Lost and Found
by rowanred81
Summary: Set in the "Sacrifice Chloe" timeline. This will be my only entry that deals with this ending, as I don't agree with it but wanted to tell a story that ended things on a high note. Also, the idea in my head was kinda cool. The ending and what it all means is left open intentionally for your interpretation
1. Chapter 1

**Lost and Found**

"I wish you were here," Max whispered as she trekked through the woods around Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, the crunching sound of twigs, dry grass, and old leaves the only other noise as she made her way through the woodland by herself back to Big Sur Lodge, "You'd have loved this place, Chloe. Your carefree spirit and my hippie-ness were born to live here."

Max had intended to spend her spring break from Blackwell Academy with friends, a few of the girls on her floor having promised to come along with her down to California. Now, by herself when all of their planning fell through, Max found herself wandering alone through the vast California park and did not really mind. _Maybe it's better this way, considering this was where_ _…_ _was where_ _…_ The thought of Chloe's smiling face, months after she'd been shot, left her feeling emotionally wrecked and she wiped the single tear from her eye as a preventative measure that would hopefully keep the other tears back. A result of Max's going back to that fateful Monday in October, only she remembered the five days and multiple timelines she'd spent slowly falling for her best friend. Reading the journal entries she had entered between the Monday of letting Chloe die and the Friday of coming back into herself had been like a nightmare, the timeline she now found herself in devoid of American Rust and "Splish, Splash." _There's nothing here to even recognize that time I had together with Chloe, the time we had. Except me._

Arriving at Big Sur Lodge, Max walked over to the small, one-person cabin she was staying in and dropped her backpack by the door as she slipped her boots off and curled her toes into the soft carpet. Looking more like a vaguely rustic studio apartment than an actual cabin, a full-size bed was nestled in one corner with the kitchenette occupying another as the living room area took up the remainder with a loveseat, coffee table, and couch. The TV was off and had been left off ever since Max had arrived the day before yesterday, the brunette opting for her laptop and the lodge's half-decent Wi-Fi. Starting up the coffee machine, Max stripped out of her jean shorts, tank-top, and undergarments before she headed into the small bathroom and its shower.

The water sprayed the sweat and dirt off of her face, as well as the tears that Max had let fall unchecked. Her parents had grown concerned since that October, with each conversation between getting tenser and tenser as they wanted Max to come back to Seattle. Blowing them off good-naturedly at first, Max had then started to snap at both her mother and father. She didn't want to leave Arcadia Bay just yet, even with Blackwell's photography program essentially over. With Mark Jefferson in prison and the fate of her school's next academic year in question, Max's time at Blackwell Academy was still only second place for the main reason why she remained. _Chloe. It's_ _…_ _It's like I can feel you in the places we had gone together, an echo or a ghost. That butterfly at your funeral, wowser, I smiled so dumbly at it but maybe it_ was _you_. _Telling me that everything would be okay, that you were okay. I wish I could believe that._

 _God, I wish I could believe that._

Max had become an honorary member of the Price-Madsen household, that being what the house was now with Chloe gone. The anger in David's mentality, the bitterness, had been shocked out of him with the death of his stepdaughter and his mood had softened through his bonding over Chloe with Joyce. Max had helped, Chloe's childhood best friend visiting nearly every day on top of being a student at the school he worked at lifting his spirits a little. For Joyce, Max was a godsend, bringing light and life into what Chloe's mother felt was a mausoleum to what remained of her family. With William gone five years and now Chloe residing alongside him, Max's time at Two Whales or at the house were uplifting to Joyce as they reminded her not only of better days but that life would eventually go on for her.

Though she was certainly no longer the awkward wallflower she had been before that Monday, Max had not changed as much as people told her. With Jefferson's arrest, Nathan being sent to a psychiatric facility to receive care, and Chloe's death, the walls of social cliques in Blackwell had been forcibly torn down and everyone seemed to hover toward each other. For Max, she earned her friendships now instead of cheating her way into them via time powers. Dana, Juliet, Kate, Brooke, and even Victoria sent her daily messages during spring break and Victoria had nearly lost it when Max had shown up to class after Christmas break with her bangs dyed blue and a butterfly tattooed on her collarbone.

"Did something in your head break, Max, or have you finally lost it after three months?" Victoria had teased, an edge in her voice reminiscent of how she'd acted before everything in October had gone down. When she saw Max's eyes become downcast, however, she'd quickly regained her senses and ran over to hug the little hipster tightly, "I'm sorry. You…You did it for her, didn't you? God, Max, I'm so sorry."

Switching off the water in the shower, Max toweled herself off and changed into a t-shirt and jeans before grabbing her coffee and setting it on an end table. Walking over to her backpack, Max recovered the digital camera her parents had given her and plugged the SD card into her laptop. She still had her Polaroid camera, still used it, but her parents had argued that it was more of a trend than practical and Max had a hard time arguing over a fancy Canon SLR for Christmas. Shots of wildlife, the surf crashing over rocks, and sunlight streaking through treetops brought a smile to her face before she clicked on the folder marked "McWay Falls". Shot after shot of the waterfall that fed into the beach, a paradise in real life, played across Max's laptop screen and she applied filters and edited some of the pictures that seemed to pop out at her before she submitted them to various nature photography journals for entry. _I might not be an "Everyday Hero", but I can still make my own mark_ , Max thought as she clicked the submission button on every tab she'd opened up with her browser. Closing her laptop, Max pulled her phone out and scrolled through the texts before selecting the one marked Kate.

 **MAX: Kate, I really wish you'd come here! Just being here is worth it, never mind the endless opportunities for fantastic shots!**

 **KATE: I know, Max. I'm sorry** **–** **it's just that, well, you know** **…** **:(**

 **MAX: We've talked about my new policy on emojis, Kate Marsh, and yeah I get it. Your parents are terrified if you so much as step across the Arcadia Bay town line after what happened.**

 **KATE: Send me pictures?**

Max attached as many pictures as her phone would allow, using her cloud drive of shots she'd taken and edited to send to Kate. A good minute or two later, Max smiled at the use of exclamation points and other characters that had become indicative of Kate's self-censorship. _Kate Marsh with a "potty mouth". Who would have thought? Wowser._ Max grinned when the string of Kate's idea of expletives ceased.

 **KATE: Sorry! It's just** **…** **Ugh, Max, I should've been more vocal with my parents! Those shots are amazing! I'm assuming you've submitted them already?**

 **MAX: Hella yes, I have! I just wish everybody could've come. I mean, I saved a decent wad of cash by you all bailing on me, but** **…**

 **KATE: I know, and I'm sorry for my part.**

 **KATE: Have you heard from anybody else?**

 **MAX: Yeah. Dana and Jules apologized the day I left, meeting me at the parking lot before I took off in Jezebel.**

 **KATE: Max, why'd you name that old truck something like** **…** **like that?**

 **MAX: Slow your righteous roll, Kate. It could've been Harlot. Or something equally designed to irk you lol**

 **KATE: You** **…** **You suck :P**

 **MAX: No. Emoji. In. My. House.**

 **MAX: Anyway, Tori's parents pretty much demanded she spend her break helping them at The Chase Space. She sends me angry selfies for every picture I send her of this amazing place.**

 **KATE: I've got to go** **–** **my sisters are begging me to get off the phone. TTYL?**

 **MAX: Of course. Don't go too crazy with your ice cream and your Davey and Goliath, lol**

 **KATE: )! (#$ ()!(!**

Max smirked at the last message and shut her phone off before she slipped on her sneakers, grabbed her camera bag, and headed out the door of her cabin.

* * *

Chloe's old truck, now Max's, drove along the highway leading into a small town that served as a tourist trap with its proximity to the nearby beach. The only fast-food place being a drive-thru, Max pulled in and hit the buzzer to the delightfully static sound of "Hold up, I'm coming!" and a small amount of unintelligible grumbling. Hearing the sound of something rolling on pavement, Max snickered as a waitress glided by on roller skates. _Oh my God, it has a theme. For cereal, Chloe would've not been able to stop laughing at something like this_ _…_

"Yo, you gonna order or am I going to need to hella smack you upside your head, kid?" a waitress asked and Max froze at the voice. A chill ran down her spine at the familiar, irritable tone and when she looked up the sight before her left her feeling equal parts terrified and exhiliarated.

Chloe Price, or a girl who looked _exactly_ like Chloe Price, stood before her in a waitress's outfit, hand on her hip as she chewed absently on a piece of gum. _What_ _…_ _? What the_ _…_ _? Holy shit, it's_ her, Max thought as she tucked some loose hair behind her ear and smiled when the waitress looked away with her cheeks tinged red.

"So, uh, can I help you?" the waitress asked, looking away. Max noted the nametag read "Jane" and she looked up at her.

"Um, what's good?" Max asked, leaning on the open window of her truck as an idea came to mind, "Aside from you?"

"Jane" laughed at Max's intentionally-terrible flirting and Max felt part of her cringe a little at how exactly like Chloe this girl laughed. Not the laugh with a tinge of bitterness, however; Jane laughed like Chloe had laughed when they were kids, carefree and full of hope and dreams. Smiling as she watched Jane's laugh turn into a contagious giggle that left Max chuckling herself, the waitress eyed her appraisingly.

"I should totally just leave you here with a cup of water and the stalest bread we have, that line was so goddamn bad…um, sorry, who are you?" Jane asked, smiling apologetically as she scratched at her fading blue hair, the roots a mixture of blonde and violet, "God, you didn't tell me your name already, did you? I'm crazy-bad at forgetting people's names for some reason."

"I didn't, and it's Max," Max said warmly, leaning against the window a little further, "So, _Jane_ , what's good?"

"Well, that depends," Jane said with an attempt at mystique, "What do ye seek?"

"I seek the Grail!" Max boomed out in her best Monty Python impression.

"Answer me these questions three, ere the other side ye see," Jane finished, laughing again with enough force that she leaned against the door of Max's truck, "Dude, why aren't there more cool chicks like you in this dive. I think I'll pick for myself what you'll be getting. I dare you to let me."

"Who am I to turn down a dare?"

Max watched the waitress named "Jane" wink at her as she zipped down the sidewalk and back into the small kitchen as a couple other waitresses came out to deliver orders to the two other vehicles parked. Turning on the radio, Max caught Piano Fire and was about to quickly switch it off when "Hey, that shit's pretty cool!" came through the small speaker on the menu display that was quickly followed by "Oh, uh, the button on that display sticks sometimes. So, like, if you're gonna talk dirty do it hella quiet."

The chicken strips and waffle fries were piping hot when the basket of food and cherry-lime slushie arrived in her smiling waitress's hands, Max more than eager to take the nosh when Jane pulled back a little with a Cheshire grin on her face. Cocking an eyebrow at the bluenette, Max followed Jane when she headed over to a picnic table that wasn't in use and sat the food down before taking one of the benches all for herself with Max sitting across. Only when Max sat down and felt booted feet tap against her sneakers did she realize that Jane seemed much more at ease as the taller girl stretched before trying to look sneaky as she grabbed a single waffle fry.

"Hey! I'm paying for that, y'know," Max said, the smile on her face undermining the attempt at irritation in her voice, "Besides, aren't you working?"

"Nah," Jane said, looking over at the kitchen and waving at the people inside the small building, "You were actually my last customer for the day. Also, because you're terribad pick-up line _so_ made my day, you get your food for free!"

"…Which means you'll be sharing my noms, I take it?"

"Uh, _yeah_. Girl's gotta eat some time, dude," Jane said as she took another fry, "So, I haven't seen you here before, Max. You passin' by or what?"

"Spring break," Max said, hands raised in defense when Jane scoffed, "No, not like that. I've got a cabin at Big Sur Lodge, little one-person deal, and I've just been hiking, swimming, and taking photos. I go to Blackwell up in Oregon, for photography. At least, it _was_ for photography…"

"Blackwell, Blackwell…," Jane said ponderously, tapping on her chin as she chewed at a chicken strip while Max dug into the food, "Oh! The place where that one dude was caught with his pedo-dungeon!"

"Uh, one of my friends was a victim of his," Max replied, the somberness in her voice causing Jane to look at her with a more concerned expression.

"Dude, I-I didn't know. I mean, I just met you an' all. How could I?" Jane said, reaching over to lay one of her hands over one of Max's, "My bad, nonetheless. So, um, is it hella cool? Going to a nice school like that? What about Oregon? I've never been there?"

 _Never been there. Is this for reals?_ Max thought as she chewed her food. Time seemed to stop as she weighed everything that was going on in her head. She was sitting at a drive-thru in northern California with a girl who looked, sounded, and acted _just like_ her dead best friend. _We could've been more, but that kiss was a lifetime in a moment, so I guess I'll never really know_. Startled out of her thoughts with snapping fingers near her face, Max blinked her eyes several times before narrowing them at Jane.

"What was that for?" Max asked, confused and a little irritated at Jane's method of getting her attention, "Also? Rude, like rude as fuck."

"Not my fault you spaced out. Also, um, you're kinda crying so I figured whatever was on your mind must be hella sad."

"I-It… It was. I was thinking of a friend of mine. She…she passed away last October."

"Sorry to hear that. You two tight?"

"The tightest," Max said before cocking her head to one side, "What about you? Tell me more about 'Jane', if you don't mind."

"Not much to tell, really," Jane said, shrugging her shoulders as she took a sip of the slushie, "I've been here since last fall. I…I don't remember anything before that…"

 _What the actual fuck_ was what ran through Max's head when Jane finished speaking, the awkward pause between them blossoming into a train of thought that had Max in a state of confusion. This girl sitting before her, who was so much like Chloe it was kinda killing Max inside, couldn't remember anything before last fall? Max wanted to pull the girl's hoodie off, look for a sleeve tattoo. Max wanted to also yank her own hair out and scream curses at the universe for fucking with her in this fashion. To have her sacrifice Chloe only to have a look-alike sitting across from her that sounded and acted so much like Chloe left Max with enough many mixed feelings that she smacked her head against the table hard enough to leave her wincing a little as she sat back up.

"Dude, for real, do you space out hard _all the time_? Because if you do it's gotta be hella bad for your grades," Jane piped in, Max realizing that the girl was now sitting next to her. Flinching at the closeness, Max watched Jane back up a little with an awkward smile on her face, "I, um, I was worried because that whack sounded pretty _whack._ "

"Look at you, all punny and stuff," Max said, a sly grin on her face. Talking to this girl was nearly as easy as talking to Chloe. It was the memory of Chloe, however, that made things difficult, "So what happened? If you're willing to talk about it, I'd be willing to listen."

"I dunno. The first thing I remember is the beach, covered in sand and smelling like I took a bath in the grossest water _ever_ ," Jane said as she lit up a cigarette only to snuff it out when the manager banged on the window and pointed at her, "Look, you can maybe give me a lift in that monstrosity of yours and I'll tell you all about it. The locals felt bad for me, so they gave me a place to crash. Sick little beachside place that the town owns for who-the-fuck-knows kind of reasons."

* * *

The drive to the small bungalow was a good five minutes of complete silence. Jane had offered Max a friendly thanks and appreciative smile, but it was evident to both of them that Max wasn't feeling particularly chatty in the truck. One look at the driver's side mirror and Max could see the thin-lipped frown plastered on her face. She couldn't get out of her head just how fucked up it was that for all intents and purposes Chloe _was_ sitting next to her as Max drove…but it _wasn't_ Chloe. _We buried Chloe, held a wake and a funeral for her. I sat by her grave at night for days, telling her everything that she'd missed because she had to play the goddamn hero and plead for me to go back in time. This girl_ _…_ _Jane isn't Chloe, she can't be._

 _So why do I feel so deep inside that she is. I mean, if she woke up with amnesia, they'd call her_ _…_ _Oh fuck, they'd call her "Jane Doe". Like my shirt. Ugh, what the hell is going on_ _…_ _?_

"This your camera?" Max heard Jane ask, looking over at the passenger side to see Jane handling what had been William's old Polaroid camera. After Chloe's funeral, Max had started using William's old camera when she found it in a box of Chloe's things sitting on her dorm room floor. "This is pretty retro. Film's gotta be expensive as fuck."

"It is," Max said with a sigh, "My parents bribed me with a sweet SLR camera for Christmas, but I still like to use that camera for my own stuff. I keep a journal, and I'll usually put a photo along with the entries."

Jane slipped the camera back into Max's bag and grimaced before she looked up. Max wanted to know what that look was about but kept her thoughts to herself in the hope that Jane might say something herself. The silence continued until Jane coughed and Max saw her pointing to a small shack nestled right next to a long parking strip overlooking the beach. Pulling in right in front of the shack, Max switched off the ignition and looked over at Jane, the tall bluenette looking back at Max with a saddened expression.

"…You're not coming in, are you?" Jane asked.

"I-I just don't want to intrude-"

"S'fine. I see how it is, me being the weird girl who can't remember shit. I get it," Jane scoffed, rolling her eyes as she looked out the window. Max could see the deep sadness reflected through the passenger side window coming from Jane's eyes, "Do you know what it's like, Max, to wake up one day and find that your life is basically over? That you have to start again and you don't even know or understand _why_? Do you?"

"I…I actually kinda do," Max replied, tensing up when Jane's head whipped around to look at her with reddening eyes, "When my friend died, we…we hadn't gotten much of a chance to get back together. I'd moved years ago and neither of us kept in touch, but I was there when she died. It… Something like that changes you, and no matter how hard you try you can't just go back to how things were. Others did, and some try, but I just let the change come."

"I'm sorry…," Jane said, reaching over to lay her hand on Max's as she gave the brunette a sympathetic grin, "That sounds incredibly rough. Are you going to be okay?"

"Y'know, I think I _would_ like to see how 'Jane' lives," Max said, her chuckle a little brittle but there was enough mirth in her eyes to lessen the tension between them. Smiling, Max climbed out of her side with Jane following suit through the passenger door, "Looks kinda dumpy."

"Gee, thanks," Jane said with a smirk as she flipped Max off, Max returning the gesture with a double-bird that had Jane laughing as she unlocked the door, "It _is_ 'kinda dumpy', but it's presently home. As soon as I have the money, I'm fucking bailing. C'mon, welcome to my home away from wherever."

The walls were painted a seafoam green, the single room containing a kitchenette, bed, and living are with an adjacent bathroom toward the back. The mattress was littered with old blankets and a black comforter, a suitcase lying open next to it with what looked like an incredibly random wardrobe. Max thought she'd spied a Misfit Skull shirt, but that was just a trick of her imagination; walking around the small dwelling, Max found an old plug-in CD player and brought it over to the lawn chairs and card table where Jane was presently sitting. Smoking, the taller girl looked at the player and shrugged.

"No discs, no joy," Jane said, toking on her cigarette like she hadn't had one all day.

"Gotcha covered," Max said with a grin as she walked outside and swiftly returned with the cassette adapter she used for her phone, "Plug and play."

"Sweet! Can finally rock this place hardcore…," Jane said with a grin before deflating when 'Something Good' by alt-J began to play, "…or, we can mellow out and chill. Either works. S'cool."

"You said you're leaving here? How, exactly?" Max asked, curiosity piqued as she arched an eyebrow in the direction of her new friend.

"Been saving up, countin' my dollar bills. There's this old lady in town with an old town car that's willing to sell on the cheap. It's just a matter of eating, having _some_ fun, and saving up for the ride. Oh! Lemme show you something hella sick, Max! Let's go out back and chill, so that you might feast your eyes on the badassness."

Folding up the lawn chairs, Max followed Jane outside and gawked at the surfboard leaned up against the shack with a wetsuit drying on it. Apprehensively reaching a hand out, Max looked over at the grinning blue-haired girl for approval before touching it. The smoothness of it seemed to make everything happening more real, as though the tactility of the object grounded Max. _I'm not dreaming. This is real_ _–_ _there's a girl here who looks like my Chloe but isn't, and it's like we're finding the same groove Chloe and I had that one week we had together but we've only just met. Wowser._

"This is pretty fucking cool," Max said with hand still on the board as she looked over at a smiling Jane, the other girl having taken a seat in her camp chair as she lit up another cigarette before pulling another from her pack.

"You want one?" Jane offered, waving the cigarette in Max's direction as though it were candy.

"Well… Okay, sure," Max said with a shrug as though to imply she gave zero fucks, "I smoke when I'm super-stressed, so why not smoke just to smoke for a change?"

"The stress smoking coming from your friend passing away?"

"Yeah, but it was only every now and then," Max said before hacking as she'd taken too much of a drag. Looking at the cigarette she held in her hand, Max cast a glance over at Jane, "Tastes like shit."

"Don't you judge me and my gift to you. There are starving children in Third World countries, Max. Starving. Children."

"What does that have to do with smoking?" Max asked, a grin on her face as she tilted her head in amused perplexity.

"Dude, if I was living over there and was starving I'd sure as fuck want to light up," Jane said, waiting for Max to laugh before she joined in, "You're awful, laughing at such a terrible joke."

"You're worse for telling it."

"It's the company I keep," Jane retorted with a grin, missing Max's twitch at the words she'd chosen.

The eeriness still lingered for Max, hanging out with a girl who looked like Chloe and talked like her. Add to eeriness phrases and discussions that bordered on juxtaposed conversations she'd had with Chloe last fall and you had a situation that had Max fidgeting in her seat. She didn't know whether to leave or to stay, but Max knew she had to do something. Getting to her feet, flicking the cigarette out into the sand, Max slipped off her sneakers and socks and dug her toes deeply into the sand next to her chair. Her nerves making her anxious, Max looked over at Jane who was in turn eyeing her like Max was doing something suspicious.

"…You want to go for a walk, a moonlit stroll with your new pal?" Jane asked, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly as she lifted herself out of the camp chair and onto her booted feet, "C'mon, Max. We'll go walking and then you can head back to your fancy-pants cabin."

"…Can I see you again? I'm here for another day and a half before I need to head back north," Max asked, looping her arm around the proffered one of Jane's, "I mean, um, I'd like to see you some more."

"Well… I _do_ have tomorrow off, and it's not like I had some super amazing plans or whatever," Jane said with an impish grin as she led Max along the beach side by side, "I can totally show you the basics of surfing, and we can grill some food and just chill. I'm a bit of a surfing prodigy, according to the guy who 'donated' the board."

Max woke up the next day with a renewed interest in her remaining break. Some days since Chloe's passing Max simply went through the motions, doing things expected of Max Caulfield because that was what she did before her life was upended with time powers and losing her best friend. The night before with the mysterious Jane, this girl who seemed to be Chloe in nearly every way, had left Max infatuated and a little obsessed. Grabbing a quick shower, Max slipped on a pair of jean shorts, leggings, her boots, and a red skull shirt. Slipping her hoodie on, Max decided to leave her hair down when her phone went off.

 **VICTORIA: Hey, Max. How's Big Sur? I know I've been shitty about it, but I'm glad you at least made it there. Ugh, I love the opportunity helping my parents with the gallery presents, but I just want to lay down on the beach with my friends and unwind.**

 **MAX: There's always a post-graduation drive down, Tori** **…**

 **MAX: I** **…** **I think I might've met someone here** **…** **-**

 **VICTORIA: OMG! Cute?**

 **MAX: Like, mesmerizingly cute. And funny. She works at a diner-ish drive-thru.**

 **VICTORIA: "She"? Damn, Max. If I'd known you play for both teams I would've taken a swing ;)**

 **MAX: -facepalm-**

 **MAX: Got to go** **–** **spending the day with her, surfing and chilling out on the beach! Did I mention she has a place on the beach? ;)**

 **VICTORIA: t(-.-t)**

Clicking the screen off, Max grabbed the SLR camera and stuffed it into her camera bag before she ran out the door and sped along in her truck to the drive-thru. It had been their agreed-upon place where she would meet with Jane. While Max was excited to see the girl again, she was also incredibly nervous. Aside from knowing that Jane looked like Chloe and acted a lot like her, what else did Max know? _She has amnesia, but she likes a lot of the same_ _…_ _Oh, I guess I don't really know that much about_ her _. Shit!_ Max saw someone waving along the side of the road and smiled at the blue hair. Her face lit up with a bright smile, Jane kept flagging Max down until the truck came to a stop right next to her. Sporting a tank-top and jean shorts like Max's, the distinct lack of any tattoos momentarily soured Max's temperament before Jane scooted over and leaned in for a bone-crushingly tight hug.

"Dude! Oh man, Max, I thought that maybe you'd forgotten or got weirded out by my crazy-ass shit!" Jane said, clearly excitable, as she slid an arm around Max's shoulder while sweeping her other arm out and across both girls' field of view, "Today, the world is ours, Max. Surfing, grilling, and chilling. The life."

"It _does_ sound pretty good, though I'm not so sure about… Oh, _shit_!" Max spat as she pulled into the drive-thru to avoid getting a ticket, "I forgot my swimsuit. It okay if we double back?"

"Hella yes, I want to see this luxurious manse of yours, Maximus!"

"…What'd you call me?" Max asked flatly, glancing over at Jane.

"…Um, sore spot? I-I don't _have_ to call you-"

"No. No, it's cool. Just caught me by surprise. I already have that nickname," Max said, stifling a chuckle when Jane's face paled even more so than it already was.

"Aww, no way. I'll come up with something, something that's just ours."

The drive back was fun, a small battle ensuing over the radio with Max eventually claiming victory when she made a point of enforcing driver's rules on the disappointed Jane. Catching a little scoff from her new friend when she switched to her phone and played some acoustic indie tunes through the cassette adapter, Max bobbed her head along with the beat until they made their way to the cabin Max had rented. A smattering of random vehicles parked along the narrow road that ran parallel to the cabins, Jane emphasized how Max's beast had the most character because it was the shittiest. Not sure if it was a compliment or not, Max shrugged before she walked up to her front door and unlocked the cabin.

"Come on in," Max said as she ushered Jane inside, "I'll only be a few minutes."

Going through her suitcase as Jane went exploring through the cabin's single-room interior, Max looked at the small collection of swimwear she'd brought. A rare moment of decisiveness coming to her, Max grabbed a tasteful two-piece suit she'd bought when Victoria had strong-armed her into clothes shopping over Christmas break and headed into the bathroom. Stripping down quickly, the bathroom door closed and locked, Max heard Jane utter a curse that caught her attention.

"You okay?" Max asked as she switched her bra and panties for the swimsuit, cerulean material clashing with the red shirt as she slipped it on and walked out into the cabin's main room to find Jane cleaning up a dropped coffee mug in the kitchenette, "Jane, there's a broom in the closet, and we can use a magazine to collect all the pieces on."

"Sorry. I'm kind of a klutz at times," Jane said, smiling awkwardly as her face gained a faint crimson hue. _Okay, so she's klutzy, funny, and sweet. One thing at a time, Max._ "Good to go?"

"I-Is this right?" Max asked, wobbling on the board as she and Jane had floated it out into the water. Jane waded at a safe distance, slowly kicking her legs and extending her arms so as to keep afloat, though her laughter wasn't helping. "Hey! This isn't funny, dude! I'm don't want to-"

Her fragile balancing act fell apart, and Max heard Jane laugh even harder before she hit the water with a splash. Eyes narrowing as she caught sight of Jane's legs in the water, Max swam over to where her friend was keeping afloat and yanked her down hard. Jane's expression of complete surprise made the momentary embarrassment of falling into the water ass-first worth it as she giggled and the bubbles of air came out of her like a torrent, Jane following suit after a sluggish underwater shove. Rising up to the surface, Max chopped the water and splashed Jane in the face.

"Agh! Asswipe!" Jane cried out as she shielded her eyes and splashed blindly at Max, who in turn had dived back down again only to pop up behind Jane as she dunked her. Looking down into the water, only her face submerged, Max smiled innocently when Jane looked up from where she was floating to flip Max off before shooting up like a rocket, "You… You, Max Caulfield, are the brattiest brat to ever fucking brat! God, don't do that! You _do_ remember I woke up on this very beach smelling like the ass-end of a barge, right?"

"O-Oh…Oh shit, Jane, I-," Max started to apologize only to cry out when Jane repaid Max's playfulness by pushing the brunette's head down into the water. Floating back up, Max scowled at Jane before rolling her eyes, "Okay, okay. I think I've had my fill of splish splash for the time being. Isn't it time for food, anyway?"

They'd relaxed a bit after the surfing lesson failed spectacularly, Max and Jane crashing on Jane's bed and just talking. Max told Jane about her life in Arcadia Bay, how she'd grown up there but had spent the past five years in Seattle before going back. Eventually, after a lot of prodding, Max had reluctantly told Jane about Chloe and had shown her a picture.

"Dude, that's so fucking eerie," Jane said as she handed the picture back without looking at Max, her voice thin and pained, "She could be my twin. Is…Is _that_ why you're hanging out with me? Because I look like your dead friend?"

"I was freaking out, at first," Max said, running a hand through her bangs, "I'm hanging out with you because, well, you seem really cool. There's an easiness around you when it comes to talking. Chalk it up to Chloe or not, but I feel more relaxed around you than I have in months. I want to know more about you, Jane, like your likes and dislikes. Do you drink, or smoke something a little stronger than cigarettes?"

"Whoa, you mean like _drugs_ drugs?" Jane sat up, looking at Max with a disbelieving smile, "Do _you_?"

"Beer's kinda gross."

"Agreed," Jane said, Max's eyes widening only by a fraction, "I tried pot. The guy who gave me the board lit up and offered a blunt. Shit was… It gave me bad dreams, felt like I was dying or something, so that's it for my psychedelic experiences."

"Chloe tried to get me to smoke, but cigarettes are the furthest I've gone and even then they're rare. I just… The smoking itself puts me at ease, I guess."

"Max," Jane said, lying back down on her side to look the brunette square in the eye, "Are you here because of her? I mean with me."

"Didn't I answer that already?"

"You _kinda_ answered, but I want something more concrete."

"I'm here for me. Because I met this smartass waitress when I was hungry and she seems pretty chill. Plus, free food. Who doesn't love free food?" Max teased, laughing when Jane playfully tried to shove her off the bed, "No, I'm also here because I want to spend time with you. I came down here by myself, but with you I don't feel lonely."

"Okay, okay," Jane said, leaning forward to bump her forehead against Max's, "Let's pause the mushy, yeah? I don't mind sappy stuff, but one can only go so far. There _is_ such a thing as overindulgence, Max."

Their foreheads still leaned against one another's, Max could feel Jane's breath on her cheeks and watched as the other girl's eyes soften with her face reddening. Her breath hitching in her chest, Max felt herself start to breath faster and more shallowly until she was on top of the strange girl. Sitting on Jane's lap, the girl's unpainted nails raking along her legs, Max leaned down until her face was inches from Jane's. _I_ _…_ _I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her? Max, you just met her and she looks like Chloe so that could be unfair to both of you. Think, Max! Is this what you want-_

"I want this," Max answered her thoughts aloud, lowering herself down to Jane's waiting lips.

Starting off slow and chaste, Max felt Jane grind up against her and the whimper that came with it stirred something inside of Max. Clamping her lips down on Jane's lower lip, Max tugged at it playfully and leaned back in for another kiss when the blue-haired girl's lips parted. Their mouths open, Max slid her tongue into Jane's mouth just as Jane was doing the same to Max's and they giggled when they bumped into each other. The giggle turning into full-scale laughter, Max opted out of the intense kisses for several smaller ones all over Jane's face before she reached Jane's neck and bit down a little.

"D-Did you just leave me a fucking _hickey_ , you brat?" Jane asked, feeling the damp spot on her skin with probing fingers, "Ugh, dammit. How am I supposed to explain this to my boss, Max? I can't exactly-"

"You can cover it up with makeup or a shirt collar, dork," Max replied, a smirk on her face as she sat up, "Food?"

"Oh, I don't taste good enough? Feels like you bit a chunk outta me, fuck…"

"D'aww," Max said, a sly grin on her face, "Poor baby. Feed me. I am guest. Feed guest. Max eat. Eat food or eat you."

Max chopped up the vegetables on the counter-top for their kebabs while Jane grilled the chicken breasts, having let them soak in a marinade since the morning. Looking out the window at her new friend, seeing the carefree smile on Jane's face as she poked and prodded the chicken breasts every now and then before flipping them, Max absently stopped chopping and just watched Jane. The girl was something of a mystery still to Max, the reasons obvious to her, but she also couldn't deny the lump in her throat or fluttering in her stomach, either. _There'd been a spark right? A thing connecting the two of us? I'm_ _…_ _I'm not crazy for thinking that, right?_

* * *

"So, this is it, huh?" Jane asked, scratching her hair as she stood outside of her shack, "Time for you to 'hit the road, Jack' and everything. Can't say I am not disappoint."

After having woken up, taken a shower, dressed, and gone out for breakfast with Jane, Max still could not believe she had just slept with someone she had only known for not even two full days. _I_ kinda _did the spring break hook-up. Oh God, I came so close to another fucking cliché. Not_ _…_ _Not that I would take this back. Jane is amazing. I just_ _…_ _Wowser. Just wowser._

Standing up on her tip-toes, Max leaned in and grabbed two handfuls of Jane's hoodie as she leaned in for a kiss. Sweet and chaste, their lips coming together, both girls held the kiss and Max felt that she had somehow frozen time all over again. Max wanted to freeze time, keep her and Jane in a bubble. She didn't know if this was somehow Chloe from an alternate timeline, or if her karma had hit the button marked "dumb luck", but Max knew that this time with the girl kissing her was worth every moment. Pulling back regretfully, a faint whimper coming from the taller girl, Max smiled and cupped Jane's cheeks before she leaned in for a more intense, open-mouthed kiss that left both of them panting and red in the face by the time it was done. Wiping the slight bit of spittle off her chin, a string of it having connected their lips when they'd broken apart, Max leaned her forehead on Jane's shoulder.

"You have my number," Max said, a statement rather than a question.

"Just like you have mine, though I'm still a little bummed," Jane replied, an impish grin on her face.

"A 'little' bummed? Do tell."

"Well, I never came up with a nickname for you to call all my own."

"How about… 'babe'?"

"Willing to go the long-distance route, eh, after 48hrs? What if I don't stick around here and you come down after graduation to find me lickety-split, or it turns out that I'm not all you hoped for?" Jane asked, eyebrow cocked though something in Max told the brunette that Jane would indeed wait.

"You won't take off, and I'm willing to take that chance. Besides, CSU Monterey Bay is near here and they have a good photography program, so stick around if you don't mind. I… There's something strong here, isn't there?" Max asked, a hand to her chest, as she leaned into Jane's waiting arms.

"Totally. You… I feel like I don't have to worry around you, like just words from you seem to make me hella warm and safe. That seems so damn strange, right?"

"Life is strange, Jane Doe, but that doesn't mean it can't be beautiful in its own way."

"We're beautiful?" Jane asked, Max looking up to see the girl shedding tears, "Max, why am I crying? It's not the end, I know, but it's like I've been waiting for you for so long even though I only just met you."

"You're beautiful, JD," Max said, kissing Jane on the cheek before the tall bluenette smiled approvingly at the nickname, "and I learned months ago to not question when something amazing happens. You have to just let it take its course."

"…'Kay, but I'm hella trusting you."

"I know."

Max let the tears fall freely as she watched Jane wave goodbye as she pulled onto the highway, the taller girl running so that Max saw her as long as possible. Seeing one hand outstretched and waving while the other was held to her face, Max knew that Jane was likely crying as hard as she was. Turning her phone on, Max selected Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" and caught a glimpse of her wallpaper – the night before when she and Jane had grilled burgers, a selfie of them with the small charcoal grill lighting up their faces as the moon lit up the night sky behind them. Her phone pinging, Max swiped at the screen.

 **JANE: I miss you already.**

 **MAX: I know. I miss you, too.**

 **JANE: Max, I have to tell you something**

 **MAX:** **…** **what is it?**

 **MAX: Jane?**

 **JANE:** **…**

 **JANE: Um, is love at first sight dumb? It hella is, right? Pff, forget it-**

 **MAX: Who says this is first sight? Maybe we met in another life, and this is just** **…**

 **JANE: Destiny?**

 **MAX: Yeah. Destiny.**

* * *

 **Author's Note** **–**

 **This is a one-off, my sole dip into the "Sacrifice Chloe" ending. I'm going to say whether this** _ **is**_ **Chloe from the timeline Max had left, Chloe somehow reincarnated, or the biggest case of dumb luck in the entire universe** **–** **I'm going to leave that for your own interpretation :3**

 **That said, this was arduous to write because just thinking of** _ **that ending**_ **makes me want to cry** **…** **which I usually end up doing. So, I hope you enjoyed this because it took some effort to go in a direction I purposefully avoided.**

 **Review, please, and I'll see you later!**

 **Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls!**


	2. Chapter 2

**"The Only Exception" by Paramore**

The truck sat idle at the four-way intersection that took Max off of the highway that led back to Blackwell Academy and onto the streets of Arcadia Bay. Waiting for the light to turn green, finger tapping the steering wheel, Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the prospect of what was going down over the next couple of days. _It's not like it is the end of the world or anything. I kinda stopped that. Your long-distance girlfriend is just coming up from Big Sur to spend the weekend with you. Oh, she also happens to look like your deceased BFF. No…No biggie…_

"Shit," Max said with a groan as she leaned her head onto the steering wheel before hearing the driver behind her honk. Sitting up straight in a jerking motion, Max's eyes shot up to see the green light seeming to glare down at her as though it were daring her, "She's gonna be at the bus station soon. I-I haven't told Joyce…or David…or _anybody_ what… _who_ she looks like. Oh fuck, this is going to suck hardcore."

Sighing to herself, slumping in her seat as she drove through the intersection and hooked a left that would take her through the waterfront part of town, Max felt the nervousness in her stomach become weighed down by the dread at the conversation she was about to have. Sporting a simple black tank top and blue jeans with an off-white leather jacket and knee-high boots, Max tapped her free foot on the floorboard of the truck as Two Whales loomed ahead. She nearly passed the diner, thinking of skipping the conversation she _needed_ to have with Joyce. _How do you explain to someone that the person you are seeing looks almost_ exactly _like their dead daughter without a) coming off as a creep and b) remaining a de-facto member of the family? I've wanted to tell Joyce for a while, but her and David have been so happy. I don't want to ruin it. Agh, this fucking sucks_ , Max thought with a roll of her eyes as she reluctantly pulled into the parking lot and switched off the ignition after putting the truck in park. Sitting in the cab, Max lit up a cigarette and took a few quick puffs to try and calm her nerves down. Not the tobacco of previous stress-inducing episodes, Max had been prescribed medicinal marijuana for her anxiety and stress only a few weeks ago. They'd had an effect, Max being more calm and open in class as well as in general. The strength of her "special" cigarettes was not that high, but it was enough for Max that the faint buzz coming along sent a pleasurable smile trickling across her face. _If Chloe_ were _here, she'd be laughing her ass off at the fact that I'm getting high. That, and she'd totally love it. I wonder how Jane will take it. She's been pretty adamant about not liking pot. I-I hope she doesn't mind me smoking every now and then..._ As if on cue, Max's phone vibrated in her camera bag and she fished it out to find an incoming text from none other than her soon-to-be-there girlfriend.

 **JD: Yo yo, babe! Minutes, Max! I'm literally minutes away :)**

 **MAX: For cereal? Emoji? Only you could pull a smiley on me and get away with it :***

 **JD: Muah, Muah, Muah! You'll get real ones, soon. How did it go with "the talk"? Did you hella learn where babies come from?**

 **MAX: Oh DOG, shut your ass! I…haven't talked to Joyce yet…**

 **JD: Max… Goddamnit, girl, you gotta do this before I roll in there like a teenage dirtbag, baby!**

 **MAX: …Glad to see you're still using the iPod I got you lol**

 **JD: Hella yes, I am! Syncing your iPhone's library to my hand dandy entertainment system… Max, this is what dreams are made of~**

 **MAX: Okay, I'm going to go talk to Joyce and likely die in the process. See you soon if I live.**

 **JD: If not, I will remember you fondly and look upon our time together with sweet remembrances while I treasure the iPod you got me lmao**

 **JD: You've got this, babe. I'll back any play you give me ;)**

 **MAX: I NEED to see you soon, if anything to hug you for caring about me so much.**

 **JD: D'awwww 3**

 **JD: Minutes.**

 **JD: Counting down.**

 **JD: Save me some waffles and bacon, lady!**

Switching off her iPhone, one she'd received as an early graduation gift from her old Seattle friends Kristen and Fernando, Max slipped it back into her bag and slowly climbed out of the truck. Her boots hitting the pavement seemed to make the dread all the more real and Max had to steady herself against the truck to prevent her rubbery legs from sending her crashing head-first onto the parking lot.

"You okay, Max?" Max heard someone ask, her eyes glancing over from where she'd been leaning her head on the hood of the truck to see Dana and Kate walking over, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

 _You've got to be fucking kidding me_ , Max thought, a painted smile on her face as she haphazardly steadied herself, _You choose to say_ that _, of all things? It's like Karma is just poking my side to try and piss me off..._ Walking over from where she had been resting, Max gave her friends quick hugs before Kate noticed the forlorn look on her face. Kate had quickly stepped into something of a caretaker/best friend role to Max over the months with Dana a close second. Combined, _and dating_ , they were a formidable wall that protected Max from the odd bout of drama that might find itself aimed at her direction. Feeling a lingering hand on her shoulder, Max looked over said shoulder and smiled at Kate before turning to face her and Dana.

"How goes it with my favorite Blackwell couple?" Max asked, meaning the words but hoping to direct the conversation away from herself, "Taking in a lovely morning at the waterfront, as couples are wont to do?"

"Don't even try it, Max Caulfield," Dana said, though she did slip her hand into Kate's and give it a slight squeeze, "Spill."

"…Jane is coming today. She's actually moments away from arriving in town," Max blurted out in a single breath, the words coming out half-slurred together and blocky as they exited her mouth.

"Oh, really?" Dana replied before seeing a knowing look in Kate's face, "Bun bun?"

"…Joyce doesn't know, does she? About…About Jane," Kate said, casting a sidelong glance at Dana that had her girlfriend's eyes widening as they both looked at Max in mute, mutual shock.

"I swear to Dog I was going to tell her sometime before all this but I've…I've been so terrified of how she'll react!" Max said, fishing through her bag to pull out a bag of gummy bears laced with THC that she'd received from the local dispensary. Popping in a couple of the chewy candies, Max rode the brief high that was compounded onto her earlier joint, "I just… Joyce is _so_ important to me and I know she's going to freak when Jane meets me here! I know she is, and it'll be terri-bad, and everything will go to… Wait. How do _you_ know about the situation with Jane? Do you both know?"

" _Max_ ," Dana said, hands on both of Max's shoulders as she looked her friend straight in the eye, "Joyce will be…upset, but she won't hate you or anything. Didn't you say that she's become something like a second mother to you? I _know_ you spend almost every other night crashing at their place. I wouldn't take Jane there, necessarily, but trying to dodge Joyce and David with Jane in tow is only going to create more grief. Just go in there, tell Joyce the truth, and deal with the consequences. And we know because we we're your friends and we…snoop just like you do sometimes."

"Is it bad that I don't like when you're this good of a friend? Like, when you call me on my drama and bullshit?" Max asked, shoulders sagging under Dana's hands as her taller friend leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

"Maxie, we've always got your back. Now go, before Kate and I have to drag you in."

* * *

Two Whales was relatively quiet when Max entered nonchalantly, trying to avoid making as much of an entrance as possible. Peak hours and last-minute rushes over with, a calm had settled over the diner that put the brunette somewhat at ease as she shuffled over to her usual booth and plopped down on the bench seat. Hearing the familiar clatter of heels on tile, Max looked up from where she had been scrutinizing the nerd graffiti to see Joyce looking at her with a beaming smile. _Joyce and David have gone through so much, losing their daughter…Chloe, and they've been so warm and inviting to me. I don't want to ruin that, but I also want Joyce to know the truth. I've talked around Jane, mentioned her, but Joyce should meet Jane directly rather than bump into her on the street when I'm not around. Wowser, this is really happening._

"Max, you look pale as a sheet," Joyce said as she poured the anxious girl a coffee, "You said your girlfriend was comin' today to spend the prom weekend with you, right? You meetin' her here?"

"Joyce, I… There's a reason she's meeting me here," Max said, gesturing for Joyce to take a seat. Waiting until Joyce took the bench across from her, a confused and slightly worried look on her face, Max continued on. "There's no right or wrong way to say this…um…"

"Max? Hun, whatever it is you can tell me," Joyce said, a hand on Max's out of compassion that trembled a little when Max pulled out a Polaroid photo and slid it across the table, "Max, why are you…? When did you and Chloe visit the beach? I thought you two didn't ever meet up in Arcadia Bay before, well, before she passed on…"

"Th-That's Jane, Joyce. This is why I wanted to meet her here, so that you would not bump into her in town without knowing who she is. That is my girlfriend," Max said, her voice wavering in what strength she had mustered. That strength fell flat when Joyce looked up at her with an almost accusatory expression on her face.

"Max… Maxine Caulfield, y-you wouldn't be… I know you wouldn't pull such a cruel joke on me like this… Max, how could you?" Joyce said, her own voice shaking as her eyes began to get watery.

"I'm not joking," Max said, reaching over to take one of Joyce's hands in both of her own, "Please. This _is_ Jane. I know it's probably super-weird to you and you might hate me for it, but this is my girlfriend and I…I wanted you to know."

"Max… I-I don't hate you," Joyce said a little shakily, "This is just going to take some time. Um, she's comin' here?"

"Yeah," Max said in a monotone voice, seeing the wounded look on Joyce's face, "You want us to go somewhere else?"

"No! I mean, well, I'll just have Suzy come out from the back to take your orders and I'll go and cook. I-I don't think it's a good idea for me to see her in person, Max," Joyce said as she quickly got to her feet, looking down at Max, "I appreciate you tellin' me, Max, but you _do_ realize how this looks, right?"

"Yeah. I know how it looks. I wish you didn't see it that way, like I'm replacing Chloe. No one can replace Chloe, not ever. Jane and I… I can't explain it. There's this connection between us. I really care about her. I hope someday you can, too," Max said unflinchingly, courage coming out of her affection for the girl she'd met months ago in California.

Joyce headed into the kitchen and the other waitress who typically helped the cook in the kitchen came out, wiping her hands on her apron before she looked over at Max with a puzzled expression after Joyce quietly murmured something to her. Slumping into her seat, Max looked out the window and nearly jumped when she saw Jane watching her from outside. Sporting a blue flannel hoodie with jean shorts and boots, Jane walked to the window and pressed her hand to the glass and Max reciprocated the gesture with her own hand. Her eyes watery from how emotionally wrung out she was after talking to Joyce, Max found her lower lip trembling and watched Jane hurry inside. Before she could even take a drink of her coffee, Jane was seated next to her with a hand gently stroking her thigh. Leaning her head on Jane's shoulder, Max sniffled.

"That looked…intense," Jane said in a quiet voice, giving Max a smooch on the cheek, "But I have good news."

"Wh-What's your good news?" Max asked, eyes looking at the bench where Joyce had been sitting. Feeling Jane's hand on her thigh, Max wove the fingers of said hand into hers and looked up from where her head was perched. Jane was looking down at her with a gentle smile, a warm and inviting expression that eased the pain in Max's chest.

"I'm here, babe."

"…Best news ever."

"I'm…I'm sorry for any grief I'm lobbing your way by coming up here, Max," Jane said as she squeezed Max's hand, "Maybe this wasn't the hella great idea we thought it would be…?"

" _No_ ," Max said adamantly, head popping up from where it had been nestled on Jane's shoulder, "No, I need to see you. Skype and phone tag can only do so much. Besides, when my parents offer to bus my girlfriend all the way from Cali who am I to say no?"

"Still…I don't wanna cause any drama…"

"JD, you are _here_. With me. I wouldn't have it any other way," Max said, leaning up to nuzzle her nose against Jane's in an Eskimo kiss before she gave it a quick peck, "So, is my girlfriend hungry?"

"Dude, your girlfriend is fucking starving," Jane said, releasing Max's hand to hold up the menu for both of them as the diner's other waitress on shift approached, "And parched. What do you suggest?"

"How 'bout I order for the both of us?"

* * *

"Max, that was pretty delish," Jane said, partly stifling a burp as she leaned back and rested her chin on Max's head as the brunette snuggled up closer to her in the booth, "I think this place gives the drive-in a run for its money."

"Your food's pretty good, too," Max said as she traced one of Jane's hands with a finger, "Two Whales is just, well, I grew up on this place. My parents have brought me here since I was a kid. Even when I was in Seattle I missed some of the food here."

"I'm just glad we don't have Belgian waffles at the drive-in. Pretty sure I would be devastated by your loving this place so much if we had a lot of the same grub," Jane replied as she sat up a little to stretch, smiling at Max's sad grumble at losing her comfy spot nestled against Jane, "There'll be plenty of time for snuggling an' shit later, babe. Take me on a tour of your hometown! Show me the sights!"

"Uh, what sights?" Max sat up to look at her with an amused expression, "We have the beach-"

"Meh. _I_ have a beach."

"-and there's the lighthouse, I guess…"

"Ooh, first stop! Where else?"

"Aside from Blackwell, that's pretty much it."

Running a hand through her blue hair, Jane appeared contemplative to Max, a serious expression suddenly taking the place of her otherwise easy smile. Even now, months later, Max sometimes had difficulty with how easygoing and light-hearted Jane was when comparing her to Chloe. _They could've been twins, for Chrissake,_ Max thought as she watched a waitress unknown to her come and collect their plates. Max had ordered crab cakes and fries for herself, opting to treat Jane to a Belgian waffle and a side order of bacon. Sipping on her coffee, Max idly watched her girlfriend until she seemed to reach an epiphany of some sort. _Uh-oh, she's up to something_ , Max thought as Jane bit her lip and looked over at Max with a nervous expression, her eyes averted so as to not meet Max's, _Something I'm probably not going to like._

"I want to visit her," Jane said in a soft voice, hands fidgeting with the cuffs of her hoodie.

"Visit who?" Max asked, her face a mask of confusion with eyes narrowed and eyebrows knitted together.

" _Her._ Your friend. Chloe. I want to, um, pay my respects."

The thought of Jane visiting Chloe's grave hit Max like a brick dropped from the clock tower at Blackwell Academy. The emotional weight of such a visit, of bringing a girl who looked just like Chloe to Chloe's own grave and introducing Jane as her girlfriend. Max had come to terms with Chloe being gone over time, Jane helping after the trip to Big Sur, but every now and then something would trigger a flashback of the week she and Chloe had shared.

 _I dare you to kiss me._

 _W-What?_

 _I double dare you. Kiss me now._

"Babe?" Jane asked, shaking Max's shoulder a little to snap the starry-eyed brunette out of whatever she had been thinking of, "Dude, you fucking disappeared on me. If…If the _idea_ of me visiting-"

"No!" Max blurted out, sitting up straight before sliding back into the booth when her outburst caused a number of the diner's patrons to glance over at her and Jane. They had received enough looks from the regular customers, the eerily familiar sight of what looked to be Max with Joyce Price's daughter…only the girl wasn't Chloe. Sighing, Max put a hand to her forehead and found it slightly clammy with sweat, "JD, it's not that. It… There's still a lot of emotional stuff between me and Chloe, but I would love to take you there. I could tell you about her, if you want."

Sliding out of their seat, Max left a $20 on the table and told the waitress to keep the change as she and Jane tugged at their clothes before heading out the door. Looking across the counter, Max could see Joyce watching them from the back and gave the older woman who had become a second mother to her a feeble wave. The wave was not returned, but the faint smile on Joyce's face seemed earnest enough to Max that she figured Jane coming to Two Whales hadn't _permanently_ made things awkward for Max and Chloe's mother. The door held open for her by the smiling bluenette, Max took Jane's hand as she cross the threshold and pulled her along until they were across the parking lot and in the truck. Opening the passenger door Jane as she'd had the door opened for herself, Max climbed into the driver's side once her girlfriend was in the cab and thanked her part time job doing photography for local businesses that she had bothered to get the truck's windows tinted.

Pulling Jane toward her by the collar of her blue checkered hoodie, Max felt a pair of waiting lips breathe onto her own before they met. Parted slightly, Max let Jane take control and hummed with delight as the bluenette climbed over to straddle her. Black-nailed hands cupping her cheeks, Max set her own hands down on Jane's hips and pulled her in closer as their lips melted into each other's with their breath mingling the food they had eaten and the coffee and soda they had drank. The taste of whipped cream and strawberries on Jane's tongue turned the kiss into a dessert-like treat for Max as she wrapped her lips around the other girl's tongue and proceeded to suck on it before she felt Jane's hand tap on her shoulder. Breaking off the kiss, Max looked at Jane in confusion before it dawned on her why the other girl was likely taken off-guard. Sticking her tongue out all the way, Max made an "Ahh" noise as she showed off the tongue piercing she'd gotten a few weeks ago.

"Uh, holy fuck," Jane said, reaching out with a finger to tap on the steel ball, "I mean, that shit is pretty hardcore, babe. Did it-?"

"Hurt? Uh, _yeah_ ," Max said with a snicker as Jane, still straddling Max's lap, playfully shoved Max's shoulders, "Oh, stop. That was a goofy question. Yeah, it hurt. Your facial expression right now _alone_ makes it all the more worth it."

"But why do it? I mean, are you going to keep it?"

"I could ask the same about you."

"…I don't know what you mean," Jane said before letting out a slight moan when Max slid her fingers underneath Jane's top and brushed fingernails against two pierced nipples.

"You were saying?" Max teased as she pulled her hands back out, "JD, we're still teenagers. I want to take more chances, try more things. If all the shit I've dealt with since last fall has taught me anything, it is that I need to come out of my shell more. I want to be brave."

"Max, you're the bravest girl I know. You shack up with my dumb ass, me not even knowing my own backstory, and you…you gave me your heart. Hella brave, babe. Hella brave," Jane said before jumping in Max's lap and wincing after her head smacked the cab's ceiling when they both saw Joyce standing right outside the truck. Hurriedly moving around, Max and Jane did their best to make themselves presentable before Max rolled her driver's side window down and smiled apologetically to Joyce.

"Uh, hi," Max said, a momentary return to her sheepish, awkwardly mousey ways of months past, "Were we-?"

"I…I wanted to introduce myself," Joyce said hesitantly, looking into the cab to see a red-faced Jane trying to not meet her gaze. A mixture of pain and amusement flickered back and forth across Joyce's face and her eyes glanced up at Max for a moment before she sighed, "Jane, right?"

"Uh-huh. I mean, uh, yes ma'am," Jane's words came out fumbled as she looked up from her feet to briefly meet Joyce's gaze before looking down again, "Hi."

"You… I know you don't want to hear it, but you look so much like my Chloe that it scared me at first. But then I saw you an' Max together and how you two are. What you have… Max is like a daughter to me an' if you give her any grief I'll-"

"No! I love Max!" Jane's head snapped up before the words came out, wide-eyed and defensive, "I would _never_ do anything to fuck up what we've got. Totally."

"Well, I brought you two some shakes," Joyce said as she handed Max a couple of large styrofoam cups, "Strawberry. Max, where you takin' this lovely young woman?"

"Well, uh, she wants to pay her respects. To Chloe, I mean," Max said warily, concern lining her face as she watched Joyce's face turn pale for a moment before the older woman seemed to gather herself back together.

"I…I think Chloe would like that."

* * *

 _What do you say to a dead girl who looks almost exactly like you?_ Max asked as she led Jane into the cemetery. Leaving the truck behind in the parking lot, Max had trudged up the hill hand-in-hand with Jane until they reached the fence. _What do I say to Chloe? I know she's…she's_ gone _, but how would I explain this if she were still here? Would Jane and I even…? No. Keep it together, Max. Your girlfriend is here and she's going to need you for this..._ Pushing off from the fence, Max took a deep breath and led Jane through the cemetery all the way to the back area that was nestled against a hillside. With a framed picture leaning on the headstone of William and Chloe from her younger days, the Price family grave loomed before the two girls and Max found her bottom lip quivering. In her darkest nightmares she could still hear the gunshot, but it would mix together with the laughter of the night she and Chloe had broken into the Blackwell pool. Laughter and splashing, gunshot, Chloe floating in the water with Nathan Prescott dropping a gun onto the floor as Max was forced back into the girls' room. She hadn't set foot in that room since Chloe had died, yet since that day it was where every dream and nightmare she'd had ended.

"You okay? You keep spacing out, babe," Jane said, Max blinking her eyes rapidly as her girlfriend thankfully broke that particularly dark train of thought, "I know spacing is your favorite pastime, but damn."

"Sorry," Max said, squeezing Jane's hand, "I kinda need your right now. This…This is hard, coming here like this…"

"You mean bringing me to visit your dead BFF who just so happens to look like me?" Jane asked in a half-hearted attempt at humor before her expression darkened, "Tell me that you're into me for me."

"I'm into _you_ , not who you look like," Max said as she was pulled into Jane's open arms, "You look like her, but you aren't her. And I love _you_."

"Thank you, Max," Jane replied, sniffling, "I needed to hear that. So, um, this is Chloe."

"This is where she's buried yes," Max said, as she knelt down and looked at the picture leaning against the headstone, "This was… It was meant for William and Joyce, not William and his daughter. Joyce-"

"I'm sorry I never got to meet you," Jane said, cutting off Max as she looked up to see tears starting to take shape in her blue-haired girlfriend's eyes, "I think it would've been pretty fucking dope if we could have met. We'd pull some _Parent Trap_ shit on Max, though I'm pretty adamant that only _I_ get the nerd smooches. I'm sorry that you had to go so young. No parent should ever have to bury their child. I know that's a tired line that is used in movies too much, but it's true. You were my girlfriend's best friend and I wish I could have met you. Even if you look like me. Not the other way around – _you_ look like _me_ , you hear?"

Max chuckled a little to herself where she stood a few paces away to give Jane and Chloe some room for Jane to get whatever she needed to get off of her chest. Pulling out her Polaroid camera, having caught sight of a blue morpho butterfly resting on a branch of a nearby tree, Max snapped a couple of shots framing the seemingly luminescent insect against the sun. Anything to get her mind off of the part of their trip that came next; Max felt a little shame, having not been to Chloe's grave since meeting Jane. For the past couple of months, Max had spent every available moment online or on the phone with Jane when she wasn't otherwise occupied with schoolwork or school life. She'd even used Skype from Chloe's room at Joyce's house one night, but the awkwardness she had felt at doing so only made the entire conversation worse. Looking over her shoulder to see that Jane was finished talking, Max shook the last photo she had taken and took a quick shot of Jane standing at the foot of Chloe's grave. _It's not about the parallels, but rather about moving on. Chloe would want me to be happy. I'll never forget her, and we'll always have that week, but Jane is my present and Chloe is my past_ , Max thought as she walked over to join her girlfriend. Pinky fingers intertwining when Max brushed her hand against Jane's, the brunette pulled out one of her shots of the blue morpho she'd been taking pictures of and placed it next to the framed picture of William and Chloe.

"Hey, Chlo," Max said in a shy voice, feeling awkward until the pinky finger wrapped around her own gave her a slight squeeze, "Um, sorry. It's been a couple months, I know. Sorry about that. Wowser, I keep fucking apologizing. I caught myself, though. See? I didn't apologize for apologizing so much."

"So, you met Jane. You two would've hit it off so well, though I know you'd be hella weird about how much you two look alike at first. No doubt you'd be all flirty with me or try to act like you _are_ Jane when she wasn't around. I just… I'm happy, Chloe. I didn't think I would be after…after you died. God, this is so hard. Uh, I am happy and I feel like I finally have a chance at keeping that way. At least, a healthy amount of happiness. I miss you, but I know you're happy wherever you are, probably getting blazed with Rachel. Oh, I smoke pot now-"

" _You_ smoke weed?" Jane asked, shocked before Max put a hand up to silence her girlfriend before she continued.

"Anxiety and stress is pretty high, and my depression doesn't exactly make things better. So, my parents got me an MMJ card and I smoke what you'd probably call weak-ass joints when things get to be too much. Oh, I also have pot gummy bears. That's right – gummy bears with DHT. Fruit-flavored high."

"Chloe," Max said after a pause, "You don't have to stick around anymore, if you _are_ still here. I will always love you and always be your BFF, but I'm also moving forward. Finally. So, um, see ya when I see ya."

Max let go of Jane's pinky and began to weave through the headstones in a hurry to get as far away as she could. The awkwardness and discomfort she felt were making her breath hitch in her chest and the slight pain there was bringing her close to tears. It wasn't until she was about halfway to the gate that Max was spun around by a hand on her shoulder that she looked to see Jane right behind her. Pulled into a tight hug, Max sobbed quietly into her girlfriend's hoodie and fought to keep herself from losing control. _Why did I think that this would be so fucking easy? Oh, by the way here is my girlfriend who looks so much like you that half the town is likely gonna give me funny looks! Here's your…your replacement!_ That wasn't how Max saw Jane, of course, but it was a nagging feeling that she had when it came to how _others_ were going to interpret Jane's presence in Max's life.

"That had to be super-painful, babe. I'm sorry," Jane said, holding Max with one arm as she stroked the brunette's hair, "This was my bad. Bad idea all around."

"N-No, it…it was bound to happen eventually," Max stammered out, sighing in relief when Jane leaned her forehead down against Max's, "I'm just so glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?" Jane asked with a wry smile that turned into a single, chaste kiss that expressed _I'm here for you_ to Max, "…So, can we go somewhere less dramatic and sad?"

"Well, um, the lighthouse is probably not that good an idea, then," Max said as she hooked her arm around Jane's and they continued on toward the gate and the parking lot further down the hill, "How about we just call it a day and hole ourselves up in my dorm room? I have movies and we can order food or just live off the vending machine."

"My babe and a comfy bed with movies and munchies? Sign me up, Max," Jane said with a smile as she pulled Max along down the hill, unhooking their arms to take the brunette by both hands, "Love me?"

"Love you."

"Be with me?"

"I'm right here."

* * *

The dorm was quiet for a Friday night, most of the girls on her floor already gone as she and Jane walked in through the stairway with a couple grocery bags filled with junk food and energy drinks. An all-night movie marathon had been decided upon, a blend of sci-fi and horror that had Max grinning and Jane looking at her with a faint smirk. _Frozen pizza bagels, ice cream, corn chips, and pizza rolls. Clearly, we will die from ingesting too much cheese and pepperoni_ , Max thought with a grin as she led Jane down the hallway before stopping at the rest room. Handing Jane the bag she was carrying, Max flashed her an apologetic smile.

"Bathroom break," Max said as she fished her room key out of her pockets, giving it to Jane, "I'm the last dorm room on the right. Pick something horrible and frightening?"

 _"Killer Klowns from Outer Space? Critters?_ " Jane suggested, a winning smile on her face when Max cringed at the choices, "I will not stoop too low, Caulfield. You said horrible, and I've had a lot of time with the cheap-ass laptop I got last month. Netflix and Internet piracy have been good to me."

Max was about to head into the restroom when she looked over at the opening door and saw David Madsen staring at her and Jane with a pallid, blank expression on his face. Looking first at Max, and then at Jane, David seemed to be completely unable to bring words to fruition as his mouth opened and closed with nothing coming out. _Shit! This is the type of crap I wanted to totally avoid…or at least ease people into!_ Whispering into Jane's ear that she should go on ahead into the dorm room, Max headed over to a flummoxed David and waited for him to regain his senses. _This…This is not going to go as well as it did with Joyce. I can just tell…_

"Max, w-who was that?" David asked, a shaky hand pointing in the direction Jane had gone, "She…She looked just like-"

"That was JD, the girl I've been telling you and Joyce about since I came back from California a couple months ago," Max said in a calm, soothing voice as she tried to reassure the Blackwell security chief, "David, you should go talk to Joyce. She's met Jane, and I will explain this all later."

"But, Max-"

"Later. _Please._ She's here for the weekend and I'd like to spend some time with my girlfriend," Max pleaded, watching David's eyes shift from the direction of Max's room to Max herself before he sighed and nodded, "Thank you, Davd."

"We _will_ talk about this?"

"Later."

"Later," David said in far-off voice as he stumbled a bit when turning around to hurry back through the stairway door.

Waiting until the door closed, Max sighed and slumped her shoulders when she felt something smack against the back of her head. Looking over her shoulder to see an empty candy bar wrapper, Max squinted down at it before looking up to see Jane peering out from Max's open doorway with a gleeful look in her eyes.

"How did you even toss it that far? The actual fuck?" Max asked, hand on one hip as she bent down to pick up the wrapper and crumple it back up. Her toss only crossed about half of the distance between them. "I blame it on the longer arms."

"Don't underestimate my mad skills, babe," Jane said with a giggle as she peeked out so that her entire face was showing, "C'mon, I set up a nice li'l nest for us to chill in while we watch movies on your laptop. Changing your password to 'JaneDoeCali13' was really sweet, but a little stupid when it comes to keeping me out of your computer. I checked your browser history and everything. Interesting stuff…"

"Y-You… That was… I'm just experimenting, looking up stuff!" Max stammered out as her leisurely pace turned into a power-walk to cover the remaining distance to her dorm, practically shoving Jane into her room as she hurriedly slammed the door shut, "Just innocent curiosity!"

"Max, you don't frequent a BDSM message board for a month straight and register 'NoirAngel' as a username when you're just 'innocently curious'. Please, babe, you're being pretty silly right now."

Max tried to reply but her words were choked off from where they had formed in her brain. _Oh…Oh, God…_. Seeing Jane waggle her eyebrows suggestively, Max groaned and leaned against the door until Jane coaxed her over by sitting in the bundle of blankets and pillows she had made and patting at the free spot on her lap. Seeing the smiling face of the blue-haired girl that had taken her heart by storm, Max trudged over to where Jane was watching her with an amused smiled and grumbled before she nestled her head into Jane's lap.

"Y'know," Jane said as she began to run her fingers through Max's hair while _Critters 2_ played on Max's laptop, "I could hella chop your hair up, give you some sick layers or whatever. An elongated bob? Oh, an undercut! You'd look sick with an undercut, Maxaroni!"

"…Maxaroni?" Max asked, a sad undertone to her voice that had Jane biting her lip.

"Sorry, sorry. Forgot that some words are blacklisted from my vocabulary," Jane said with a slight grumble to her voice, "Max… Never mind. Forget it."

"…No. I'm sorry, JD. I really am. I-If you want to call me 'Maxaroni', then go on ahead."

"You sure…?"

"All bans have been lifted," Max said with a half-smile as her eyes grew distant for a moment.

"Maxaroni and Che" had been her and Chloe's nickname as a duo growing up, Max remembered. _We were inseparable for so long_ , Max thought, _Then Dad got his job moved to Seattle and we had to leave. I left Chloe… I was so ashamed that I was too scared to call her for_ five years _and we only had a week back together that only_ I _will ever remember…_ _It's not fair_. Max looked up from her spot and smiled affectionately at Jane as she felt the girls' black-nailed fingers run through her hair.

"I-I'm sorry for being a shit sometimes, for closing off," Max choked out, fighting the tears welling up, "It's… It's _hard_ sometimes…"

"I know, babe, and that's why I'm here," Jane said, continuing to run her hands through Max's hair, "I… I know I probably don't make things hella better, but… I'd like to try, if you'll let me."

"How?"

Jane pulled the blankets over them and bent down as she brought her lap up a little so that Max's face was inches from her own. Bracing herself on Jane's legs, Max lifted herself up the remaining distance and felt warm lips touch her own trembling, tear-dampened ones and she melted into the kiss. Not lustful per se, the kiss was still intense and passionate but in a loving and compassionate way that had Max yearning for more. Their lips collided and their teeth tapped against one another's with a shared giggle before parted lips gave to tongues apprehensively brushing up together before they greedily increased the kisses' intensity. Shifting around, desperate to not break the contact, Max and Jane moved in an odd synchronicity until what had been Max resting her head on Jane's lap became Jane straddling Max's waist as she leaned down to continue kissing the brunette with soft pecks on her cheeks and nose.

"Are you intentionally missing my lips, you jerk?" Max teased, her hands sliding under Jane's top to come around to the small of her back.

"Maaayyybe," Jane teased right back, stifling a laugh as she kissed Max on the forehead, "…I love you, Max. I really do."

"I love you, too. Um, not that I don't appreciate it but why tell me that _now_?" Max asked, having caught the serious look on Jane's face, "Oh… Y-You're breaking up-"

"What? No! Dude, worst fucking call _ever_ ," Jane said with a huff as she sat up and pulled the blanket off of them, glancing up to see the end credits of the movie rolling, "Wow, we went at it for nearly an hour and a half. Kissing achievement unlocked."

"Don't change the subject," Max said as she slid out from under Jane to sit cross-legged opposite her, "I just… Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong with you, babe, or with me. It's just… This place is full of memories involving a girl who had my face, y'know? Shit's super rough," Jane said with a slight petulance as she looked down at her fidgeting hands, "So, I say I love you and kiss you and all that to make my own memories here with you. I know you're graduating soon, and that you'll be heading down to Cali so we can be together, but I want memories of us here, too. Am I selfish?"

Part of Max was conflicted about her answer. It wasn't that Jane wanted to supplant Chloe in Max's mind, so much as Jane simply wanted a place here of her own. _She's lonely,_ Max thought as she stroked her knuckles across Jane's cheek, _She sees me space out and figures that I'm thinking of Chloe, or something to do with Chloe. Wowser, my bae is smart._ Patting her own lap, Max smiled when Jane crawled over and sat in it, wrapping her long legs around Max until the brunette found herself trapped between them. _Not that I mind._

"You are absolutely _not_ selfish. I am, I'm the bad person in this case. You're here and you're amazing while my mind wanders off and… Jane, I love you right back. Like, Wowser-level love. I think of you and it's like I'm just warm everywhere, y'know?"

"Warm everywhere, huh?" Jane said with a smirk.

"You dirty-minded fuck."

"Am I wrong?"

"S-Shut _up_. Just…Just get back to kissing me. Please?"

Max smiled as Jane leaned in, the faintest brushing of their lips together turning into a heated kiss as they held each other tightly. _This is going to be the best weekend of my entire school year_ , Max thought before she pulled away.

"We don't have to do, well, we don't have to go tomorrow," Max offered, "I mean, uh…"

"Dude, I found a fancy-pants outfit and everything," Jane said, feigning shock, "I'm hella your date to the Prom."

 **Author's Note –**

 **I fell for Jane in the sense that I wanted to see more of her being happy with Max, too.**

 **The people encouraging me to write more of this particular story have been nothing but generous and kind. Thank you for your words of support. Not just recent encouragement, either. I'm talking about people who reviewed it or reblogged it and asked for more. I'm trying.**

 **Stay Hella, Cinnamon Rolls!**


	3. Chapter 3

" **Brick By Boring Brick" by Paramore**

Waking up in the dark of night, Max fumbled around for a bit in a sluggish haze before realizing with a dawning clarity that her girlfriend was not lying beside her in the small bed of her dorm room. Falling out of bed in a panicked rush, Max hurriedly got to her feet and walked over to the desk lamp to switch on the light. _Where the hell did she go?_ Max thought to herself as she walked over to the bedside table and began to type frantically on her smartphone.

 **MAX: JD? Where are you, sweetie?**

 **MAX: Jane, this isn't funny**

 **MAX: …Jane? J, please answer me :(**

Max sat on the edge of her bed and tapped her foot anxiously as she waited for a reply. They had not physically been around each other long enough for Max to have a guess where Jane might be. Plus, this being Arcadia Bay, Jane only knew where the diner and the bus stop were. _No way would she be at the lighthouse, or the junkyard. Those…Those are Chloe's hangouts. Chloe's…and mine…_ Hand to her head, the small brunette rubbed at her temple in small circular patterns until her phone finally went off.

 **JD: Sorry**

 **JD: Phone was on silent.**

 **MAX: You sure you want to go with that? I have before and it doesn't end up being the best reply.**

 **JD: I just wanted some alone time, Max.**

 **MAX: JD, where are you?**

 **JD: I found this lounge place in your dorm. There's a TV and some comfy chairs. I'll come back.**

 **MAX: You don't want me to come to you?**

 **JD: Nah, I'll head back up your way.**

Max put her phone down and ran her hands through her hair. _Three in the morning and she's just walking around the dorm, wanting "some alone time". Jane, have you been up all night?_ Hearing the doorknob turn, Max's head snapped up and she smiled in relief at the sight of Jane coming inside before her mouth creased into a pout when Jane simply glanced at her before walking to the other side of the small room.

"Damn, babe. You sounded like I'd fucking ran away, or like you were going to have a panic attack," Jane said in a cool tone as she flopped down onto the floor, "What's the rush?"

Max watched Jane sitting on the floor by Lisa the plant. The glow of a lit cigarette bobbing slowly as it rested between two pale lips, Jane flicked the half-smoked cancer stick overhead and out the window Max had left slightly open. The shadow of the unlit corner hid Jane well, Max's paper lanterns on by that point along with her lamp, but that wasn't the question on Max's mind. Bloodshot eyes and a pained smile greeting her at three in the morning was a bad sign. _Something's up_ , Max thought as she walked over and sat across from Jane, _She does looks like she's hardly gotten any sleep…_

"JD? Sweetie, what's wrong?" Max asked, reaching out to take Jane's hand only to frown when the other girl pulled back, "Hey. Don't isolate yourself. Not from me. Please?"

"Why the fuck am I here, Max?" Jane asked, pointedly looking at Max with a scowling expression that was eerily familiar to the brunette, "I'm…I'm just some painful reminder of a girl that everyone's tried to move on from. You saw the lady at Two Whales…"

"Joyce? What about her?"

"Dude, she was barely keeping it together! From the way you've described her she sounds like the friendliest person in the world but I _saw_ the brief looks she would shoot our way in the diner. It was that clichéd 'you look like you've just seen a ghost' crap. Which, evidently, is all I will probably be to some people. How the hell can I be myself when everyone sees someone else?" Jane exclaimed in a huff and popped something into her mouth. Looking down at what Jane had reached into, Max internally facepalmed a little at the emptied bag of her marijuana gummy bears. _She's high. She's tripping over everything from the day because she's high and it all has gotten to her in a bad way. Time to step up, Max._

Reaching over to latch onto Jane's hand, Max pulled the taller girl into her lap and held her as Jane rested her head on Max's shoulder. It was an awkward situation, Jane having inches on Max, but they somehow made it work. Rocking Jane slowly, Max stroked her girlfriend's hair as she gave the sniffling bluenette some chaste smooches on her cheek and forehead. _My poor Jane Doe, all scared and scarred. I…I can't imagine what it would be like to walk into a place where everyone would know my face from somebody else. Maybe this was a mistake, bringing her here. I just… No, no it wasn't. Jane is my girlfriend, dammit, and if people can't accept that..._

"I didn't want to keep hiding you," Max gently whispered, the space between them narrow enough that it was clearly audible to her girlfriend, "Jane, if you really want to go back home…then I'll drive you myself when it's not early as fuck. I hope you don't, though, and I just want you to know that I will be with you every step of the way here."

"It _is_ morning, you nerd."

"Hush. I'm being sweet."

"Max," Jane said, lifting her head up to look Max in the eye, "I look like her, I sound like her. I bet I even act like her, to an extent anyway. People will see me and think of her. I'm _not_ a copy of a dead girl. I'm _not_."

"Baby, I know that," Max said with a smile as she stroked Jane's tear-dampened cheek with a thumb, "You don't have to prove anything to me, and screw anybody who thinks you do have something to prove."

"I wish it were that easy."

"It can be. I'll help in any way I can."

"I know. You're, like, the most amazing girlfriend anybody could ever have," Jane said as she leaned her cheek against Max's, "I'm sorry for ranting. I've… I guess this place is getting to me. At least you're graduating soon. Then I'll never have to come back here ever again."

"Is Arcadia Bay _that_ bad?" Max asked with an incredulous smile before shaking her head at Jane's cocked eyebrow, "Forget I said that. Please."

"You have a lighthouse. That's it. I live on a beach-"

"You live in Big Sur, JD. _Of course_ you're going to have all the cool shit!" Max said indignantly as she pushed a chuckling Jane Doe off her lap, "Wait till you get to Seattle. Change your damn tune then. Also, you might want to ask before snacking on my noms."

"Oh? Yeah, sorry. Just got the munchies," Jane said as she eyed the empty bag, "Those li'l bears were delicious, though. Don't really know why, but I just couldn't stop eating-"

"They were pot gummies, JD."

"W-What?"

"I have a prescription for medicinal marijuana. My anxiety and stress, well, they've been getting a little uncontrollable lately. The medicinal pot stuff helps."

"I-I didn't know they were pot snacks!" Jane said, her face turning paler than it already was, "Oh God, I'm hella high!"

"You stoner."

"Shut it, Max! I-I didn't mean to get high!" Jane replied, "Wait, I… How do you typically feel when you're high?"

Max laughed, folding over as Jane's wide-open eyes darted back in forth while she bit her lip.

* * *

"Today, we do whatever you want…up until the dance, that is. Then, well, we dance," Max said as she came back from the shower with Jane in tow. Whereas Max figured Chloe would have liked to sneak the two of them into the same shower, Jane simply took the shower next to Max's so they could talk while washing up, "All the wondrous wonder of Arcadia Bay is yours for the taking, JD!"

"You are a fucking clown," Jane said with a snort as she unwrapped her towel, "Hand me my jeans."

Max did as was requested of her and took to assembling her own armor. Feeling more like something comfortable over what little fashion sense she did have, Max slipped into a pair of jeans and a band tank-top of The Julie Ruin before pulling on her old hoodie. Slipping on her boots, her sneakers a little threadbare with a hole or two starting to form on the side, remained where they were in the packing box. Half of the stuff that Max had brought with her and accumulated was already put away in boxes that were stacked against the wall. Her laptop, camera bag, suitcase, and journal were the most prominent things remaining. Turning around to see Jane's red face looking at her before quickly glancing away, Max smirked and playfully shoved her girlfriend.

"Watching me get dressed is an…interesting way to start today's activities. Enjoy the peep show, you creeper?" Max teased, sitting on the bed as Jane pulled a crimson t-shirt over her head that bore cover art from an album by The Clash. Jean shorts and Chuck Taylor sneakers finishing the other girl's ensemble, Jane stuck out her tongue before striking a pose, "Oh, so we're doing a photo shoot, eh?"

"Make me beautiful, babe," Jane said, smiling radiantly as she eyed Max with eyes that trailed Max when she headed over to her bag. Pulling out the Polaroid camera, Max took a picture.

Hand on her hip, chin up, Jane struck another pose and Max took a knee to capture the shot from an angle that had her girlfriend looming over her with an imposing disposition. Jane's t-shirt was tight on her lean frame and the sports bra she wore gave her body shape a more androgynous appearance. Playing off that, Max ran a hand through Jane's hair and smiled when Jane responded with some enthusiastic purring sounds. Hair haphazardly combed back, Max took a few head shots of Jane: smiling, scowling, and a shot of her in the middle of wagging her eyebrows. _Jane's so easy to photograph, the ideas come so naturally to both of us. Then again, she totally is my muse._

"Sit in the desk chair, let me get a couple shots of you with it?" Max suggested, dragging the chair out to the center of the room, "Sit, pose – do whatever you feel works for you. You're kind of a natural for me."

"High praise from the hipster?" Jane asked, a wry grin on her face, "Seriously, though. I'm kinda loving this. Just you and me, like at my place on the beach."

"I'm sure it helps, it just being us," Max said as she lined up a shot of Jane arching her back against the chair's backrest, leaning against it with her hands in her pockets as she looked off-frame. Poking her head up from the viewfinder, Max's brows furrowed, "Is this also because of what you said early _early_ this morning? JD, we can go to Portland or wherever's within a short driving distance if you want. We don't have to _stay_ in Arcadia Bay. I wanted to see you, wanted you to be my prom date. That doesn't mean confinement to this place."

"Ehhhh, I don't really feel like a road trip," Jane said, now sitting in the chair backwards, legs splayed out as she rested her chin on top of the backrest with a thoughtful expression on her face, "Can we go check out the lighthouse later?"

"…Yeah. Yeah, we totally can," Max said, the pause in her answer catching Jane's interest as she looked at Max now with a cautionary expression, "Sorry. Mixed memories there, s'all."

Both girls seemed to simultaneously pause for a moment before Jane got to her feet and walked over to hold Max. Max was confused for a moment before realizing what Jane was doing. _She's comforting me. I never really told her about the lighthouse, or Chloe, but she seems to just sense that it's not the best place for me since October._ That was a fact for Max; she had tried on multiple occasions, alone and with friends, to try and go up to the lighthouse and had been helped down when she could only make it partly up the hill before breaking down. Max held Jane in return and sighed into her girlfriend's long arms.

"Dude, we hella don't have to…but, like you said, there's not much in your hillbilly town," Jane said, kissing the top of Max's head before she let go of the brunette to slip her hoodie on, "We can kick it wherever you want to, babe."

"You're the guest, though. We go where you go," Max said, unconsciously slipping out of her hoodie to put her leather jacket on. Seeing that she had changed, Max internally pined for the days before that week in October. _Someday I'll be able to go up there without wearing my strongest armor. Someday._

Her truck parked, cheap styrofoam coffee cup in a slightly trembling hand, Max led Jane across the parking lot to a trail leading up the hillside to where one of her oldest hangouts was located. The lighthouse looming overhead, Max pulled a joint out instinctively only to have it swiped out of her mouth by Jane. Irritation flashing across her face for a brief moment, Max saw her slight mood swing register with Jane and shook her head when the bluenette offered her the joint back.

"No. You're right. I-I don't need it…," Max said uncertainly as she downed the last of her gas station coffee, the taste of a greasy breakfast burrito and burnt coffee unarguably offensive to her taste buds. Worried she might get sick _after the fact_ of ingesting a cheap breakfast, Max silently wished she had opted for a donut and coffee like Jane had, "Be my s-stress reliever?"

"You know it," Jane replied, taking Max's hand as a sign or reassurance, "Maybe, um, you could tell me a little bit about her on the way up the hill…"

"Who? _Chloe_?" Max asked, her shock getting a faint half-smile from Jane in return, "I-I…I just never figured you would want me to talk about her to you, s'all. You seem tense enough just being here. Knowing about the reason why...that might make things worse, JD. I don't want you getting upset."

"Max, you can't hella save me every time I get upset," Jane said, a slight groan escaping her along with the words as she rolled her eyes in a mirror of attitude that struck a painful nerve with Max, "I'm going to get upset. I'm _already_ a little upset over earlier this morning. Just… Talk me through this as I help you up. We'll busy each other so fast that we'll be up this fucking hill before you know it."

"Where to begin? Uh…," Max said as she and Jane began to walk, crossing the parking lot and heading into the woods where the trail started, "Um, I have… _had…_ known Chloe for years. We grew up together as little kids. You'd laugh, the first meeting we had. She was using crutches and I was just this lonely little thing on a merry-go-round, having no one to play with. Sometimes I think we were set up to meet like that, both of us kinda outcasts."

"You sound like a couple a' nerds," Jane said offhandedly, gently tugging Max forward a bit as her feet struggled to move forward for a moment, "Take your time, babe. We'll get there."

"Joyce, Chloe's mom-"

"Yeah, I got that info yesterday. Believe me, did I get it," Jane said, eyes averted as a pained look crossed her face for a moment while Max looked up at her and squeezed her hand, "Don't worry. I won't flip my shit. No more pot gummies, remember? Still can't believe I got fucking stoned from your hippie candy…"

"Anyway…"

"Yeah, anyway…"

"Chloe and I were pretty much inseparable from preschool age up until I left with my parents for Seattle. Sleepovers, movie nights, video games, imaginary pirate adventures and superhero shenanigans – we kinda did everything two kids could do together. It wasn't until her dad, William, died that things went to shit. My…My family moved really suddenly and I-I hardly…I hardly…"

Max stopped mid-step and brought a hand to her face to wipe the tears from her eyes, remembering the look Chloe had on her face when she had come to the house days before William's funeral to say goodbye. She knew, even back then, that she had broken Chloe's heart. _God, Chloe, if I could go back one more time I would change everything that happened that day. No shutting the door in my face. No tearful pleading from outside. I'd kick the door down or break a window, get myself inside, and just hold you and never let go. I'm so sorry, Chloe. I failed you, more than once._ Not realizing she had started to sob, Max found two arms draped over her shoulders and looked up to see Jane looking down at her with a worried expression. Sniffling, Max pressed her face against the other girl's chest and shut her eyes and the world out for a moment as she focused only on the beating of her girlfriend's heart. The thunderous rhythm wasn't Chloe's, but Max didn't want it to be. She was with Jane, and in spite of currently being a mess she was happy. Pulling back from her refuge, Max smiled sadly and kissed Jane on the tip of her nose before stepping out of the entwined arms holding onto her.

"We don't have to keep going, babe," Jane offered, though in truth Max could tell that Jane also did not necessarily want to stop. This was something they both felt needed to be done.

"Yeah, we kinda do."

Max took the lead and set the pace as they slowly advanced up the hillside, Max telling Jane stories from her childhood as the blue-haired girl listened in silence. It was difficult, bringing up Chloe not only with Jane but on the hill that she had been with Chloe last. _I don't really count the girls' room when I came back through time. My goodbye was a little further up this hill_ , Max thought as she first caught sight of the lighthouse. This point was usually where Max turned back or was forced to turn back. She had managed to make it this far on her own once, not counting when she had come to after time had reasserted itself and she found herself at the hilltop; Max didn't count that because it wasn't _her_ in the sense that she never lived the week where Chloe died, only the instant it happened.

"So, you…had powers," Jane said as they stopped to sit on an old park bench, the smell of cigarette smoke and pot weak from the ashcan stuck into the ground next to the wooden seat, "You had time powers. Uh-huh."

"I did, actually. You probably think I'm crazy, right?" Max asked, looking a little more like her old, bashful self as she looked away with her cheeks reddening.

"Um, I look like a dead girl that you were best friends with, Max. Crazy is subjective. Go on, keep talking."

"Well, there was this whole conspiracy with my art teacher and one of the students. They were… Mr. Jefferson was using the student, Nathan Prescott, to drug and kidnap girls for some creepy photography project in a bunker the Prescotts paid for," Max said, words coming out a little shakily, "Chloe and I found out after a few days of investigating and…that's where we found out her friend…"

"Rachel Amber?"

"Yeah. The dark room is where we found out she was dead. After that, Chloe was…we were…can we stop?" Max asked, her voice's shakiness increasing as she huddled against Jane, "I-I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Max felt Jane stroke her hair and kiss her on the top of her head again, the warmth of her girlfriend's touch calming her. Her breathing coming with increasing speed and shallowness, Max reached up and cupped Jane's cheek in one hand before she gave the girl a gentle kiss. Max didn't know why but she need the reassurance that she wouldn't wake up to find that all of this, everything with Jane, was just a dream. It wasn't the first time Max had worried over such a notion, but she felt it so strongly with the lighthouse looming ahead. _It's because this is where I saw Chloe last. Everything's bubbling up to the surface, all my feelings. Wowser, I hope I don't_ completely _lose it._

The remainder of the walk was slow and silent, the girls holding onto each other's hands tightly as they drew ever closer to the lighthouse. Max wanted to say something, wanted to tell Jane that they should just turn around and go somewhere else. She knew that Jane was living on a beach back in California, but maybe she'd like to check out Arcadia Bay's beachfront. _We don't have to do this, we really don't_ , Max thought as she began to mentally backpedal from her earlier resolve, hesitation turning into lurching forward when Jane pulled her forward.

"Max, c'mon," Jane said, waving her free arm in the direction of the lighthouse, "We're literally seconds away. Don't back out on me now."

"C-Can't…Can't we go s-somewhere else?" Max stammered out, remembering her and Chloe's first trip to the lighthouse when Max had come back to Arcadia Bay. _I can still remember how her lips tasted when we said goodbye_ , Max thought as she recalled their final time together at the lighthouse as well, "Please, Jane. _Please_ -"

"We're here."

Max looked away from Jane and saw that her girlfriend was right. They had reached the hilltop, standing along the tree line with the small open space splayed out before them in what Max felt like a timeless moment. _Irony, Caulfield be thy name_ , Max thought at her idea of this moment being without time. A shaky foot forward, she nearly fell to her knees before Jane caught her and helped Max to her feet. It was like something out of a memory, the hazy sunlight rippling over the water and the far-off horizon with a solitary bench perched just a few feet away from the cliff's edge. Tears running down her face, Max gently brushed Jane's arm away and moved forward of her own volition. _I haven't been here in months, not all the way up top. It's like someone preserved it, everything is as I remember. The graffiti, the fire pit, the bench. Even Chloe's mark on the tourist map is still there._

 _Don't you forget about me…_

 _Never._

"Max?"

Max looked over to see Jane's eyeing the stump that she and Chloe had carved into weeks before Max and her family had abruptly left for Seattle. Wiping the tears from her eyes and the wetness from her cheeks, Max walked over to stand next to Jane. Crouching down, Max brushed her fingers across the worn engraving and it was as though a weight was slowly lifting itself off her heart. _This is where we really said goodbye. Not at the cemetery. Not in the girls' room. Here, during the storm. This is where we really said our farewells, with the storm and everything._

"This is where we said goodbye," Max said in a hushed, reverent tone as she kissed her fingers and placed them on the old stump, "Chloe, I am _so_ sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been up here. I guess, well, this place's memories became a consequence of our actions together. I…I miss you, o-okay? I m-miss you so goddamn much, it's crazy. You'd laugh if you saw me and my girlfriend right now, probably bitch about how I'm greedy for wanting two beautiful women on my arms. Jane…"

"You," Max said as she got to her feet and looked Jane in the eyes, "You are my future, JD. I don't know if I told you that already. I probably did. Chloe will always be a part of me, my childhood and my best friend. Now, though, I have you and you're amazing."

"Max…," Jane said, bottom lip quivering a little till Max put her fingers up to still it.

"You are the _best_ thing to ever happen to me, JD. You found me at the perfect time in my life to be found. Maybe we found each other. You, without a past. Me, feeling like I was without a future. Together, though, I think we have a lifetime."

 _"_ Babe, you're getting hella mushy, y'know," Jane said as she cupped Max's cheek and leaned down to kiss the brunette tenderly on the lips, brushing them together as they slightly parted, "I'm kinda digging it right now. Also, this view… This is amazing!"

Following Jane over to the bench, Max took a seat next to her girlfriend and watched as the bluenette simply watched the beach and the small fishing boats randomly pull out of the bay. There was something idyllic about Jane to Max in that moment, as the sunlight kissed her girlfriend in such a way that it was as though she were glowing. Pulling her camera out, Max smiled at the small pile of photos she had taken just today in the bag before she took a step back to properly frame Jane.

"Smile," Max said, taking the shot when Jane turned to look at her with a set of dazzling blue eyes. Eyes that had Max's heart lurching in her chest from how they seemed to engulf her in their oceanic hue.

* * *

The peak lunch rush at Two Whales kept Max and Jane sitting out on the tailgate of Jezebel as they munched away on bacon cheeseburgers and a basket of French fries. Watching the various customers that the diner drew pull into the parking lot and inevitably leave once they had finished eating, they took their time with their food and simply observed the patrons and pedestrians that would cross the parking lot. Having parked the truck in the corner parking spot toward the back of the small lot, Max and Jane went by fairly unnoticed as it was one of Joyce's rare days off. _I'm seriously thankful for Joyce not being here,_ Max thought as she slurped at her soda between bites of burger and the occasional fry or two, _I'm sure this is all a lot for her to take in and I hope that we can talk about Jane sometime before I leave. I need Joyce to understand that this isn't about Chloe. It's about me and being happy after months of on and off miserableness._

"Isn't that the dude who was in your dorm yesterday, babe?" Max heard Jane ask before she looked up to see David approaching them from where he had parked his muscle car, "Uh, is he mad? Max, he looks kinda pissed…"

"He always looks kinda pissed. He's…He's Chloe's stepdad," Max said with a sad, pained look on her face. The lighthouse experience, despite ending on a relatively positive note, had still been emotionally draining enough that Max felt incredibly fatigued at the moment. _Out of one fire, and into another. I swear, I really am the Drama King and Queen,_ Max thought as she put her soda down when David approached them, "Hey, David. This is-"

"I heard. That is, Joyce told me about her," David said, looking pointedly at Max.

"Dude, I'm right here," Jane said, sounding a little annoyed at being talked about like she wasn't even there, "I hella have a name and everything, even!"

"I _know_ you have a name, young lady," David said, finally casting a brief glance at Jane before he returned his attention to Max, "Max, can we talk? In private?"

"What, you can't talk when my girlfriend is around?" Max asked with an eyebrow raised, "Anything you want to say to me she can here. David, _seriously_ , you can relax-"

"Max, how can I relax? How can you expect Joyce to relax, or anyone who knew Chloe when…when _she_ is walking around town like everything is perfectly fine?" David asked, his irritability replaced with a pleading tone that had enough heartache in it that both girls momentarily froze in place, "Max, what are you _thinking_?"

"That I wanted my girlfriend to be my prom date," Max said, sliding her hand across the tailgate to link her fingers with Jane's as the other girl scooted a bit to sit closer to Max, "I'm not _intentionally_ being insensitive or whatever you're likely going to call me, David. I know…I know how hard this must be-"

"Do you? Joyce saw the spitting image of her daughter in the diner yesterday and when she came home she cried for hours. Max, why didn't you tell anybody about the fact that Jane looks so much like Chloe?"

 _"Dude_ , I am sitting right here," Jane said, sliding off the tailgate, "Why does Max have to have a reason for not telling anybody what I look like? Yeah, so I'm a fucking doppelgänger or whatevs of your dead stepdaughter. How do you think it makes _me_ feel that every person in town who even remotely knew Chloe stares at me like I'm her fucking ghost. I'm not her, man, and to be fucking frank I am sick and tired of the stares. I'm here because Max asked me to be her date, and because _I_ wanted to see _my girlfriend._ "

"Now you listen here-" David started to say, the stern tone in his voice all-too familiar to Max before she stepped between them and glared at both of them.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Max cried out, taking both by surprise as she had been all but ignored up until that point, Jane and David's eyes locked on one another until Max's outburst, "God, David, _this_ is why I didn't tell anybody! Wowser, maybe I should have. I dunno. What I do know is that Jane is here and…and you're all just going to have to deal with it. E-Even Joyce."

"Max, you don't think you're being a bit selfish? Putting your own feelings first before-"

"Man, I am a pacifist but I swear I'll knock you on your ass if you call her selfish again," Jane said, lip curled upward as she bared her teeth at David, "Leave my girlfriend alone!"

The silence between the three of them was equated by the lack of ambient noise, no cars or animals passing by. It wasn't until the bus pulled up that either of them even moved, Max sliding back onto the tailgate with Jane following suit as she aggressively dug her hand into the French fries and popped a few into her face while not taking her eyes off of David. The older man, to his own benefit, took one last look at Max before he slumped his shoulders and walked back over to his car. Watching David take off, Max worried that she might have gone too far. _I haven't been like that with him since, well, the day after Chloe and I broke into the Blackwell swimming pool. That didn't even happen in this timeline, though, so I guess I've never been like that with him…_

 _"_ Why _didn't_ you tell… Max, did you really not tell anybody about me?" Jane asked after a moment's hesitation, looking up from her styrofoam cup of soda at Max.

"I've told people about you, JD. I just never bothered to explain how you look…," Max said, pausing to reflect on her actions, "I guess I didn't care what people might think. Maybe I should've, though. So that people wouldn't be so shocked. Don't think I'll be welcome at the Price-Madsen residence for a bit. Are…Are you mad?"

"Wha-? No, babe, I'm not mad," Jane said as she poked Max in the shoulder, "But I think this 'carbon copy' bullshittery needs to come to an end."

 _"_ How so?"

"I'm thinkin' we dye my hair a new color," Jane suggested, shrugging as she slurped down the remains of the drink before setting it down, snickering when Max pouted at the lack of tasty beverage, "What else would look good on me? Green? Red? Ooh, _pink_!"

"You do _not_ strike me as someone who might have bubblegum-colored hair," Max said with a laugh as she finished her bacon cheeseburger before sliding off the tailgate with Jane following suit. Tossing their trash in the nearest garbage can, Max brushed the excess fry salt and grease on a spare napkin before throwing it away with the rest of their meal, "What about…violet? The grocery store a couple blocks down carries Manic Panic."

"How do you know this?" Jane asked, Max blushing a little with her teasing, "Oh ho, my little hippie dyed her hair? Pray tell, what color was selected for such a special head of hair?"

"…I dyed it blue for a few months," Max said, sliding her fingers into Jane's, "For Chloe."

"I'll dye my hair violet, but you've gotta dye yours," Jane offered, cocking an eyebrow, "We can have matching heads of violet hair."

"You want me to dye my hair? On _prom night_? Are you for cereal?" Max asked, her smile giving away the fact that she liked the idea, "Why the fuck not? It's not like it is a permanent dye job, and I'll get a removal kit in case I really don't like it."

"That's my juvenile delinquent. Kicking verbal ass and taking names," Jane said, leaning in for a smooch, "You are too fucking cute, Caulfield."

"Oh, _stop it,_ " Max said, playfully shoving Jane into the truck through the passenger side, smacking the other girl's ass when Jane wiggled it in front of Max, "Tease me any more and I'll do more than smack your ass."

"That an offer?"

" _Ugh_."

* * *

The girls' shower room smelled strongly of hairspray and various other cosmetics by the time Max and Jane showed up with Max's desk chair dragged along behind them. Dana waited next to a sink with Kate manning the other as they smiled at the bashful couple. Jane looked nervously over at Max, Max anxious herself as she caught the look Dana and Kate shared. _Great. A repeat performance of the diner, only this time the part of David Madsen will be portrayed by Dana Ward and Kate Marsh_ , Max thought with dread as she frowned. Setting the chair in front of a sink, Max sighed before feeling slender fingers intertwine with her own. Looking over her shoulder to see Jane standing right behind her, Max squeezed the hand that held hers and looked at Dana and Kate with a look of determination.

"This is Jane," Max said, "Though you already know that."

"Uh, hey," Jane said, biting her lip, "…Please don't make this hella awkward. I just want to laugh and dance and party with my girlfriend tonight."

Dana smiled warmly at Jane before Kate followed suit and the two girls gave Max and Jane a group hug that left Max speechless and Jane sniffling. Neither girl had expected anyone to be as cool over Jane as Dana and Kate were being. _I know it's odd as fuck,_ Max thought as she leaned her forehead against Kate's and smiled at her friend, _I'm just glad that at least these two have my back._ Pulling away from the group hug, Max flopped into the chair and smiled mischievously at Jane as the bluenette squatted down in front of her while Dana prepared the dye kit.

"You're going first?" Jane asked, a playful smile on her face, "What about those chestnut locks of yours?"

"Well, y'see, I kinda told this girl I know that I would dye my hair the same color she's dying hers," Max said, rolling her eyes, "Stupid, right? The things one does for love."

"Awww," Dana said, looking down at Max before winking at Jane, "Looks like you've got a winner there, Jane."

"Yep," Jane said knowingly, a grin on her face as she took the hand Max offered and held on, "I'm hella lucky."

"So, Maxie, what will you two be wearing tonight?" Dana asked, casting a glance at Kate, "I've got this great pink and black dress, whereas my date is going with something missing the plunging neckline."

" _Dana_!" Kate said in a chastising manner, though if her blushing meant anything it was that she didn't mind the idea of Dana in her dress, "I-I couldn't pull off the style you have. I don't have a body like yours."

 _"_ Good thing you like my body," Dana continued on, winking at Kate, "Play your cards right and maybe-"

"Get a room," Max said with a chuckle before pointedly looking at Dana just before she was about to start the dye job, "Not this one, though."

Max let her head fall back against the porcelain sink and looked over at Jane doing the same in a chair from the TV lounge, their hands still clasped together. Smiling at her girlfriend before she closed her eyes, Max let her mind wander. Thoughts of the past months, both the ones with Jane in her life and what felt like an in-between time where Chloe was on one side and JD on the other. Max knew that Chloe was irreplaceable, but she wasn't trying to do that with JD. _That's the real reason I didn't tell anybody. I didn't want them automatically assuming I am just trying to hook up with a copy of Chloe. Jane… She isn't Chloe, and she doesn't want to try to be. She's her own person, and I love that person so much. I couldn't forget Chloe if I tried, but Jane is here, alive, and we're together. That's what matters to me right now. Chloe would want me happy._

 _"Hella yeah, I would," a familiar voice said in the darkness of Max's closed eyes, and in her mind Max opened those same eyes to find herself lying on the beater car in the junkyard that she had come to on during the eighth of October. Sitting up, Max looked over to see Chloe Price smiling at her fondly._

 _"Chloe…," Max said, her lip trembling as she began to cry when Chloe stretched her arms out toward the brunette, "Oh God, Chloe."_

 _The hug between them seemed to last forever to Max, a mixture of sobbing and laughing exchanged between the two girls that left both of them slightly out of breath._ Wait, _Max thought as Chloe squeezed her tightly_ , I'm dreaming. This isn't real. Chloe's… We buried her. I just fell asleep in the chair…

 _"Doesn't mean this can't be real, Maxaroni," Chloe said as she cast a sidelong glance and wry grin at Max, "You're a fucking time traveler, dude. There's no telling what kind of bat-shit craziness can possibly be. You hella broke time, space, and reality – a discussion with your dead BFF is hardly a fucking stretch."_

 _"So, uh…," Max stammered, her brain swirling with a seemingly endless string of questions that boiled down for her to "What's up?"_

 _"Pff, nerd."_

 _"Stoner."_

 _"Hipster cliché."_

 _"Pothead trash."_

 _"Ooh! Trash, huh? Give them an inch, they hella take a mile," Chloe said with a chuckle before her face turned serious, "You're leaving soon."_

 _"Well yeah," Max replied with a snort, "I'll have to wake up eventually."_

 _"No. I mean you'll be leaving Arcadia Bay. Me."_

 _Max frowned at the pained expression on Chloe's face and took her hand. Dream, vision, whatever – Max_ felt _the blue-nailed hand squeeze her own back and that was good enough for her. Taking a deep breath, Max let it out evenly before she spoke again._

 _"It's not like I planned this, Chloe," Max said in a somber tone, "Leaving you behind wasn't exactly what I had in mind."_

 _"I know, Max. I know," Chloe replied, a half-smile on her lips as she looked down at her booted feet, "I just wish that we could've explored the world together, like we said we would when we were kids. Fuck, man, I didn't even get to take you to Portland for that road trip."_

" _You_ did _get a kiss out of me, though," Max said with a smirk as she gently elbowed Chloe in the ribs, "The dare doesn't count."_

 _"Dude, the dare_ totally _counts!"_

 _"_ Dude _, you backed away so fast I barely felt your lips," Max said, stifling a giggle at Chloe's look of aggravation. Only when the aggravation turned into mild irritation did Max speak again. "I miss you."_

 _"I know."_

 _"I met someone, y'know. Jane. She's nice. Really nice."_

 _"Ooh-la-la, Caulfield. Lady-lover status confirmed."_

 _"Shut up. You do know about Jane, right?"_

 _"What, that she's the spitting image of me? Pff, yeah. I know. It's…weird, Max."_

 _"I love her."_

 _"…We never got our shot, did we? Did we even have one?"_

 _"Would you rather I had let Arcadia Bay get leveled?"_

 _The pause between them stifled Max, the brunette zipping up her hoodie to hold back an imaginary chill that only she seemed to feel while Chloe just let her feet dangle off the car's hood as she reclined back. Joining her best friend, Max looked at Chloe's watery eyes and brushed away a tear._ It isn't wet _, Max thought, What_ does that mean?

 _"It means that we're almost out of time. Heh, get it?" Chloe said with a forced laugh as she lazily turned her head to look at Max, "You have to go, and so do I."_

 _"I'll always love you, Chloe. You'll always be a part of my life," Max said as she took Chloe's hand only to feel a numbness upon contact. Somewhere out of sight, Max could've sworn she heard her name being called._

 _"Max, you won't forget me, will you? You'll remember me?"_

 _"Hella," Max said with a sad smile before hearing her name being called from somewhere off in the distance…_

"Max?" Jane called out to her girlfriend as Max woke up, eyes fluttering as she blinked rapidly, "Dude, you fucking snore."

Max felt her face heat up at the sound of the other girls laughing before everyone got quiet. Looking around, Max froze at the sight of her own reflection. Her elongated bob now sported an undercut with her remaining hair a dark violet. That wasn't what caught Max's attention, though – the redness of her eyes, the tear-stained cheeks. She had been crying. Jane was the first to reach over to her, her own violet dye job finished minutes ago.

"Hey, babe. _Hey_ ," Jane said, draping her shoulders around Max's as she knelt alongside the violet-haired Max's head, "You okay?"

"I'm here," Max said, patting Jane's hand as she leaned into the other girl's arms while Dana and Kate quietly took their leave to go finish getting ready themselves, "I love you, Jane. I mean it."

"I-I love you, too," Jane said with mild surprise at Max's sudden earnestness, "You okay? You didn't answer me the first time."

"I'm okay now."

 **Author's Note –**

 **Was Chloe a dream? Was she a ghost, of the scary punk variety? Who knows!**

 **People asked for at least one more installment in this before I go on hiatus so here you go, though getting the one that ends** _ **right before**_ **the prom…well, I would've warned you but there were just** _ **so many**_ **requests.**

 **Jane's hair is violet, now. This is a thing.**

 **As is Doefield, evidently. lol, you're all too kind for giving my Jane Doe a chance. Thanks 3**

 **See you all later! The next-to-last installment of Press Play is this coming week!**

 **Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Conclusion

**"Drive" by Halsey**

Max's dorm room was lit by the desk lamp and her floor lamp as she and Jane changed out of their street clothes and into the dresses they had each picked out separately. Facing away from one another, the mirror covered by a sheet, Max stripped down and changed into her prom dress, a pink satin strapless number that came to just above her knees with lace trim on the skirt's bottom. Following it up with matching pink gloves that came up to elbow, Max slipped on a pair of black stilettos that Victoria had been teaching her to wear for the past month and a black velvet choker with a quartz gem cut into the shape of a heart. Her hair already done and makeup applied before changing, Max nearly peeked over her shoulder but withheld her curiosity out of respect for her girlfriend. They had been together for a couple of months, but this was the first time they were this close to one another in such a state of undress. _I_ am _curious, but I'm also respectful. I don't want to do anything that will mess up what Jane and I have, though I don't think she would necessarily mind. Wowser. I'm really going to prom. With my girlfriend as my date. Double wowser._

"You dressed yet?" Max heard Jane ask, "Can I look?"

"Can _I_?" Max asked back, "But yeah, I'm dressed. How about we count to three?"

"Turn on three, or turn after three?"

"One…two…"

"Max, turn _on_ three or _after_?" Jane asked, Max giggling a little at the nervousness of her girlfriend.

"Three!"

Max spun around with Jane following a couple seconds later after Max gasped, the former bluenette punching Max in the arm for messing with her in such a manner. Max, oblivious to the punch, drank in the visual before her. Wearing heeled ankle boots and a matching choker, an idea they'd had for weeks, Jane had swapped out denim and cotton for a silky black dress with spaghetti straps that ended in a miniskirt. Max blinked again, jaw slightly agape as she took in how beautiful Jane was. The light of the desk lamp behind Jane seemed to frame her like a halo and Max instinctively walked over to her camera bag, took out her camera, and snapped a photo of Jane smiling at her warmly as she held her arm in a manner that Max knew all too well.

"You don't need to be shy, JD," Max said as she took another photo, this time a selfie of the two of them, "You look amazing. I will clearly have the best girlfriend _ever_ for a date."

"Yeah, but I've got the hottest," Jane said, Max yelping a little when her girlfriend squeezed her ass, "Seriously, Max. You are hella delicious looking right now. I kinda want to undress you and kiss you all over. …Can I?"

"What? No, not right now!" Max said with a laugh and a wink, "…But maybe later. For now, how about we just look each other over in quiet awe before being thrust into the prom environment?"

All the bustle and expediency of getting to the dance faded as Max looked into Jane's twinkling eyes and took hold of the hands waiting for her own to receive them. Fingers intertwining, Max and Jane's foreheads leaned against one another's as they closed their eyes and simply stood together in the middle of Max's dorm room. With most of her things packed away or gone altogether, the room had become somewhat lonesome to the brunette over the past couple of weeks; with Jane there, _finally_ , it was as though new life had been infused into Max's remaining days at Blackwell. _School part is done. Now it's just paperwork and the actual ceremony. Then, Cali-for-ni-a and my bae,_ Max thought as she brought her lips to Jane's and brushed across them in a slight kiss that left Jane's lips moving to catch hers. Parting her lips, Max gave her girlfriend a wet, open-mouthed kiss as she lapped her tongue against Jane's before her eyes popped open when Jane pulled away.

"JD? Something wrong?" Max asked, her sense of alarm increasing when the girl withdrew from her altogether, "Hey. Talk to me."

"Is… It's going to be like it has been since I got here," Jane said, arms crossed as she averted her narrowed eyes from Max in a flash of anger that quickly turned to pain as her lower lip came out a bit, "Max, I don't want to be a reminder of someone else."

"You're not," Max said, and it was true to her. She knew it wasn't the case for a number of people, that it wouldn't be the case for likely a number of her classmates, but they all just had to fucking deal with it, "If anyone gives you grief, you have my permission to kick their ass. Better yet, lemme at 'em!"

"Don't joke, Max. It isn't funny."

"I'm not joking, not really. I, uh, I know that some people are going to look at you and see…see Chloe…but I just want you to know that I look at you and see only you. Okay?" Max asked, crossing the distance between them to stroke her thumb in a circular motion on Jane's forearm as she gently took hold of it while looking into the violet-haired girl's eyes, "JD, you are _you_."

"That's funny, considering I'm still a fucking amnesiac," Jane said, pulling away again only to sit down on Max's bed, "I… Max, what would happen if I suddenly remembered who I was? Would all this be for nothing?"

"…Do you _want_ us to be nothing?" Max asked, the tremor in her voice getting Jane's attention as the smaller girl's eyes began to water, "JD, I _need_ you. You're… You are the only reason I feel like I have a chance in my life, a real fucking chance. I was lonely and in pain and you were there like it was meant to be. I can't let that go. I won't. Even if you wake up one morning and remember everything I will be by your side no matter what-!"

"Max, whoa! Dude, I'm not saying that I want us to be _nothing_!" Jane said, gripping Max's shoulders tightly as she eyed the anxious girl, "Chill, okay? I've just… I've had a lot to think about these past couple of months. Waking up on that beach, meeting you, getting some semblance of a life going. I don't want it to stop, but… I'm scared, okay? Being a ringer for your dead best bud doesn't exactly make me feel any better, either."

"Jane…"

"I'm… I'm sorry," Jane said, wiping a forming tear from her eye as she sighed, "Like I said – I've had a lot to think about."

"JD, _don't_ apologize," Max replied as she cupped her girlfriend's face and tilted it down so that their foreheads were leaning against one another's, "We don't have to go to the dance if you don't feel up to it. We can just get into our jammies and chill here in my room. Order a pizza, get some sodas from the vending machine down the hall, and watch some videos I copied off of a friend's flash drive."

"'Jammies'? What are you, twelve?" Jane asked with a chuckle, missing the flutter of Max's eyes as her own were shut. Opening them up, she peered into Max's eyes through her own eyelashes and kissed the shorter girl on the nose, "Nah. We're both hella spiffy, and we even got matching hair color. It'd be dumb if we didn't go. Just… Don't leave me."

"Leave you…?"

"Stay by my side, babe? So that I don't have to face the staring alone?"

Taking her girlfriend's hand, Max smiled as she gave Jane an Eskimo kiss.

"Never."

* * *

The gymnasium located next to the Blackwell swimming pool was loud from dance music and the chatter of students when Max and Jane walked in. Dimly illuminated with tinted lighting scattered throughout the large space, neither girl attracted any unwanted attention upon entry and they carefully weaved through the scattered groups of people until they made their way to the bar area. While the Vortex Club had been disbanded after the events of last October, the dance's style and motif was still in line with the parties the club had once held. _At least there's no curtain separating the students with some crappy VIP section_ , Max thought with a hint of relief and nostalgic awkwardness. Taking a Red Bull with cranberry juice for herself, Max handed Jane a Cherry Pepsi and tried to encourage her nervous girlfriend with a smile.

"C'mon, it's not _that_ bad," Max said, elbowing the other girl gently in the side that got a sidelong glance aimed at her in return, "Wowser, JD. Death-stare, much?"

"…I just think that every time someone is looking at me they're staring, s'all. Sorry for being a crabby ass," Jane replied, taking Max's hand as she sipped at her soda before spying Max's own beverage, "What, I get the kiddie drink and you get the fancy-pants cocktail?"

"Dude, it's non-alcoholic."

" _Dude_ , I know. It doesn't mean I can't grumble because you get a mixed beverage and I get a soft drink."

"Oh my God, JD, you're such a whiner," Max teased before turning and grabbing another Red Bull and cranberry juice, "Here. For the girl who is evidently too good for a Pepsi."

"Pfft, whatevs," Jane said, rolling her eyes before averting them so Max wouldn't see the pleased twinkle as she sipped at her mixed drink, "So, are we going to dance or just down energy drinks all night? Your room is sounding more and more appealing…"

"Well…, I was thinking we could maybe find my friends. Formal introductions and whatnot," Max said airily with a smirk on her face, "Formal introductions at a formal dance. Get it?"

"There should be laws against forbidding you from using puns. Like you would have to show people a permit or something."

The dim lighting made actually finding any of her friends harder than she thought it would be as Max took Jane's hand and began to wind herself around the scattered clusters of various students throughout the gym. In truth, Max only partly wished to be at the prom; she wanted something entirely normal that befitted a high school girl. _Nothing about my school year has really been all that strenuous, but that week in October has stretched itself out to even now. This is the first social event on campus since, well, I guess that party on Thursday didn't happen because I changed the timeline by going back to October 7_ _th_ _. The Vortex Club party where Kate was drugged…_ That _was the last party to be held on school grounds. Wowser._ Looking over her shoulder at Jane, a nervous smile playing across her lips, she took in the darting eyes of her girlfriend and realized just how anxious JD actually was. She had known that Jane was rightfully concerned about traveling up to Arcadia Bay, but Max had convinced the other girl that it would be good for them to see each other in the flesh and that the opportunity to take her girlfriend to the prom was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Now that they actually _were_ at the prom, however, Max did not feel too happy. She felt somewhat miserable at seeing how pained Jane's face was becoming. Stopping in mid-step, Max spun around on the borrowed stilettos and looked at Jane. With the added height of the heels, Max was nearly even with her girlfriend in terms of height.

"Do you want to go back to my room?" Max asked, taking both of Jane's slightly clammy hands as she looked up to see Jane's lip quivering, "JD, talk to me."

"I-I don't like this," Jane said, her eyes continuing to dart around until Max placed her hands on Jane's cheeks to get the other girl to focus on her, "Max…Max, I'm sorry. This is just-"

"It's too much. I know. Don't apologize, though, because it's my fault," Max said, a reassuring hand on Jane's shoulder as she leaned in to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek, "We'll go back, change into comfy clothes, order pizza, and chill. How's that sound?"

Jane's mouth opened to answer only to have her response drowned out by the uproar of Blackwell students cheering as the lights dimmed even further before "The Only Exception" by Paramore began to play. Max watched couples head to the center of the gymnasium to dance and grimaced at the teenage romance on display when she felt a hesitant tugging of her body toward the dancing area. Her eyes gazing on her arm as she was pulled further and further into the space with the song playing melodiously, Max's eyes followed up her arm to the blue-nailed hand that trailed along an arm of it's own before ending at a shoulder that was fringed with violet hair as Jane looked at her. The hesitation and anxiety seeming to be held in check for the moment, Jane's soft smile and gentle touch as she draped her arms over freckled shoulders brought a matching smile to Max's face. Hands on Jane's hips as the swayed and side-stepped to the music, Max leaned her head against her girlfriend's chest and smiled against pale skin.

"You didn't have to do this," Max half-argued, the petulance in her voice more for Jane's benefit than her own, "I'm totally cool with us going back to my room and chilling."

"Well…," Jane said in a low, husky voice to keep the conversation between the two of them, "Suppose I want at least this one dance with my babe on her prom night? I mean, I'm not exactly thrilled about the odd looks I've been getting since I got to this town. Right now, though? Hella couldn't care less. Got you in my arms to some chill music and we're dancing in spiffy threads. Epic win, all the way."

"I…I love you, Jane. You know that, right?" Max said as she pulled her head back to look Jane in the eye with a tender, loving gaze, "I'm pretty sure that I can't imagine my world without you in it."

"…Wow," Jane replied, eyebrows raised as a giddy smile trickled it's way across her face, "Um, I hella love you, too. Max, you…are…the only exception~"

"…Did you just serenade me here on the dance floor? Or, rather, try to?"

"I'm no Hayley Williams but I thought I'd give it a shot."

"It was sweet. Very mushy…and sappy…but definitely cute and sweet."

" _Ugh_. I was trying to be cool."

"D'awwww."

"Can it, Caulfield."

" _D'awwwwwwwwww._ "

"…Jerk."

"Max? Max _ine_ Caulfield, don't you dare try and take off before introducing us to your girlfriend," Victoria Chase's voice called out from behind Max and she winced at the use of her full name as she turned to see Victoria, Taylor, Kate, Dana, and Juliet all looking at her with an air of suspicion as Jane instinctively lowered her head so that her violet hair obscured her face, "Max? Why is your girlfriend hiding? We don't bite. Well, not too much."

"First, _Max._ Never Maxine, Tori," Max said as she defensively stood between her friends and her girlfriend, "Jane, well, Jane's…shy… Coming to the dance took a lot out of her and we were only doing this one dance."

"So, you're not hitting the afterparty up on the lighthouse?" Dana asked with a tinge of disappointment in her voice as Max bit her lip, "Maxie, _c'mon_. The dance is one thing, but bonfire and teenage debauchery is another!"

"Debauchery…?" Kate asked, eyebrows knit together as she winced at whatever mental image ran through her head.

"I'm taking Jane back to my room and we're just going to call it a night," Max said, her hand tightening its grip on Jane's as the taller girl did the same, her blue nails digging into Max's skin enough to alarm Max from the pressure, "Look, I'm sure that whatever you all have cooked up is amazeballs and everything but I _for cereal_ need to get Jane out of her. Panic attacks are no joke-"

"A…A bonfire could be hella cool," Jane said and Max glared at her friends when their eyes lit up in mute disbelief as the spitting image of Chloe Price looked up at them from under violet-dyed hair, "Uh, hey. I'm Jane. Please…Please don't stare at me like that. I've gotten enough of that since I got to this town."

"Shit!" Victoria and Dana said in unison as Kate averted her eyes in embarrassment while Juliet looked down at her hands.

"Sorry," Dana said, taking the lead as she walked over to take Jane's other hand, "I'm Dana, Maxie's bestie."

"Hey!" Victoria and Kate cried out in unison, Juliet smirking at the objection and subsequent stare-down between the two blonde girls.

* * *

" _This_ is your idea of a bonfire?" Max asked Victoria as the blonde pixie-haired girl scowled as a response to Max's smart-ass inquiry, "JD and I could do a better job with her barbecue down in Big Sur."

Dodging a half-feigned swatting hand, Max snorted when she laughed as Victoria simply looked at her with an expression of mild irritation and resignation before walking off. The "bonfire" turned out to be a slightly larger-than-normal campfire with a couple coolers full of various alcoholic beverages. The crowd was also much smaller than expected, namely it consisting of Max, Jane, Victoria, Taylor, Dana, Kate, and Juliet. _I should've known that it would be like this. Just us up here_ , Max thought as she sipped at her wine cooler while taking in her surroundings. She didn't visit the lighthouse much, not after Chloe's funeral. It felt like a betrayal to Max, at first; being there after her prom with Jane, however, felt more like an awakening. She felt like she had just taken a step forward rather than simply hang around in some in-between haze of mourning and moving on. Especially having made the trek with Jane earlier in the day. Watching Jane talk to Kate, Max walked over and bumped her hip against Dana's to get her friend's attention, returning the taller girl's amused smile with a toothy grin of her own. Kate had opened up to Max after Chloe's funeral, but having to deal with what Mark Jefferson and Nathan Prescott had done to her left Max not wanting to overindulge on Kate's selflessness. What had initially been just a friendly visit with Dana became a strong bond that resulted in them become best friends. _Juliet hadn't even been fazed, thank Dog. Don't think I could've handled any kind of friendship drama_.

"What up, Maxie?" Dana asked, a cheery smile on her face as she took a jello shot offered to her by Victoria, "Ooh, look at you with your wine cooler. Such a grown-up."

"Oh, what _ever_ ," Max rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless at Dana's baiting tease, "Not all of us feel like getting hammered just because it's prom night. Or any other night. How does Kate feel about your indulging the shots?"

"Kate's chilling over there with her wine and your bae so it's not like I'm going to have to take a penance or whatevs," Dana said with a groan, "Don't be so damn sour, Max! We're graduating! Leaving this place and all it's drama behind! Be happy!"

"I _am_ happy, jerk," Max retorted, lips pursed with an eyebrow cocked, "I just don't necessarily need to express it as though I'm running around because I'm on fire."

"Oh, don't look now but our mutual girly friends approach," Dana said before she took another shot and pulled Kate in for a kiss that startled the blonde, "Hi, _you_!"

"H-Hi, D-Dana," Kate stammered, face a deep shade of red as Jane walked up and let Max come up behind her to wrap her arms around the taller girl's waist, "D-Don't!"

"Don't what?" Max asked, brows knit in confusion as she felt Jane chuckle, " _Jane…_?"

"Don't look at me, babe," Jane said with a smirk as she looked over her shoulder to whisper to Max, "Kate doesn't like PDAs so Dana teases her with them when Kate doesn't see them coming."

"You going to drink anything?" Max asked, tossing her empty wine cooler in the trash, "I-I think…yep, there they are!"

Producing two cans of Cherry Pepsi, Max took Jane by her free hand and led her to the sole bench that faced out toward the ocean. Sitting down, Max snickered when Jane folded her legs underneath her and snuggled up close. Popping open both cans, Max sipped at her soda while Jane simply held hers. This was what Max had wanted with Jane – time alone. They had had it intermittently ever since Jane had come to Arcadia Bay, so even in spite of their company behind them both girls felt like they had the hilltop to themselves as they sat together on the bench and watched the moonlight and starlight play on the water's surface. Nudging Jane with her chin, Max smiled when she saw the other girl smirk and ran a hand through Jane's violet hair, her own returned to its original brunette state.

"Gonna keep the violet?" Max asked, running her fingers gently through Jane's hair to the sound of Jane purring as she smiled contentedly at the affection being given to her.

"Thinkin' 'bout it, babe," Jane said in a distant voice, the mild euphoria on her face an indicator of how much she was loving Max's fingers running through her hair. Shifting around, Jane laid her head in Max's lap and leaned over to kiss the part of Max's tank-top that covered up her belly button, "Pet me more."

"You're…You're adorable," Max said with a grin as she brought her second set of fingers to the task and began to vigorously massage her girlfriend's scalp, "This good? How about some of _this_?"

Fingers still in JD's hair, Max began to massage the other girl's temples and the world seemed to come out of focus around them as both girls only saw each other in this moment of shared comfort. Everything that Max felt was presently bent toward the violet-haired, contented girl lying in her lap. Love, kindness, a sense of heartwarming – Jane both provided Max these feelings _and_ caused Max to generate them. It left Max feeling as though she had come home after months of being away. A welcome contrast to the near-daily reminders that her best friend was gone and the school she was in served as a reminder of terrible things that had gone on. She tried not to dwell on the darker times before she had met Jane, the crying herself to sleep at Chloe's grave or how the halls of Blackwell seemed to echo to Max with memories of things that had never come to be. _No midnight swims or "just entering",_ Max thought as she ruffled her girlfriend's hair. The girl who looked _so much_ like Chloe. The violet shade of dye was a start, Max knew, in Jane distancing herself from the deceased girl she resembled. Max wondered on top of that just how far Jane would go to distance herself from Chloe's memory.

"JD?"

"Mmm?" Jane's eyes were shut and the lip-biting expression of bliss on her face seemed to sour for a moment as she opened her eyes to gaze up at the apprehensive tone in Max's voice, "Babe?"

"A-Am… Is this, this stuff here at Arcadia Bay… Is it too much?" Max asked, "For real. Not just the place and some of the people here, but all of it – am I making things worse?"

"Wha-? Where's this coming from?" Jane asked, concern lining her face as she thinned her lips in a slight grimace while sitting up, "Max, why would you even think something like that?"

"…I brought you here, asked you to come. I knew that it'd…it'd be rough. Knew that people would fucking jump on us when they saw you," Max said, eyes misting as she sniffles, refusing to meet Jane's gaze, "Sure, some things have been nice. You being here, just seeing you through something that isn't a computer screen or hearing your voice through a phone call. And my friends have warmed up to you…"

"Kinda," Jane added, "I think there's still a little wigged out. I am the hella walking dead-"

"Don't even joke about that!" Max cried out, the shrillness of her voice surprising the both of them as they glanced over their shoulders to see that the partygoers were starting to leave as if on cue. Quietly clearing her throat, Max sniffles again, "I-I can't…I don't even want to think about losing you."

Jane slipped her hand into Max's and wove their fingers together, Max squeezing the hand that had reached out to her own. She looked into Jane's clear eyes with her own murky ones and leaned her forehead against the taller girl's shoulder as she began to cry. It wasn't fair; being with Jane on her prom night should be nothing but blissful happiness. Max envisioned some imaginary LGBT teen romance movie where the girls end their prom night with candlelight and kisses that fade to black. Instead, their happiness was fractured into small moments that almost had a secretiveness about them that neither of them could share. _It's like this whole damn town won't let me forget. I'm_ not _forgetting Chloe. I'm not. But I can't mourn forever and I just want something good again. Is spring break and a handful of fond memories over the past couple days all I'm allowed? Bullshit._

* * *

"Max, what are we doing?" Jane asked as they crept into the dorm building, Max trying to hush her girlfriend with a finger to her lips, "Eugh, your fingers taste like chemicals and weak-ass appletinis. What _are_ we doing? I thought you said that the curfew tonight was later – why are we going into stealth mode?"

Max took Jane's hand and lead her up the stairs quietly, flashing her girlfriend a plaintive look that told Jane to just play along with whatever she had in mind. Hearing a frustrated sign and grunt of resignation, the brunette led her violet-haired companion cautiously up the stairs and to the door leading to her floor. Cracking it open just enough to get a good view of the empty hallway, Max sighed in relief. No one from the party had come back, her and Jane's back-and-forth not leading up to an impromptu intervention or whatever her friends might cook up. Swinging the door open wide, Max held onto Jane's hand the entire time as she quickly made for her room.

"We're leaving," Max said once she had closed the door behind them, locking it before leaning against it with her chest heaving in deep breaths. Pulling out a joint, Max lit up and looked at the expression on Jane's face, "I have a prescription. Anxiety. You know this, after eating my bag of gummies. Feeling pretty damn anxious now."

"Well, don't expect me to smoke a bowl or whatevs with you," Jane said, shuddering, "Still remember how my latest fruit-flavored trip went. Hella no."

"Wait. _We're_ leaving? What the fuck are you talking about, Max? You're bailing on school? So close to your goddamn graduation? Have you lost your mind?"

"Keep your voice down!" Max said in a half-whisper as she pulled out her suitcase and a duffel bag and tried to open her dresser drawers only to have them kept shut by Jane's hand clamping over each drawer she tried to empty, "Quit it!"

"Stop me, hippie!"

"Jane, this _isn't_ funny."

"Neither's what you have in mind, dude."

Staring down Jane for a moment, Max slumped her shoulders and flopped onto her bed with Jane lying down next to her, the concern on her face easily visible in the dim lighting emanating from her desk lamp across the small room. Touching that face, feeling the kindness in a way that was both tactile and emotional, Max pressed her forehead against Jane's and sighed. She wanted to make Jane understand, to help her realize just how tough that it was for Max to still be in Arcadia Bay.

"My… My friends mean a lot to me," Max started, curing a violet strand of Jane's hair around her finger as the laid face-to-face with only inches between them, "After…everything happened, we all kinda just dropped the high school drama bullshit and found that we were just lonely in our own individual ways. They mean a lot to me, but not enough to stick around."

"I thought I could get past all of it, that week in October and…Chloe being gone," Max said with a bitter scoff that had Jane arching an eyebrow, "I watched my best friend die after saying goodbye to her without her even knowing that had ever happened."

"The time travel thing, right? You… God, I can't even imagine," Jane said, lips bending into a frown, "I hella don't want to even try. Am I a bad girlfriend for that?"

"You're a smart girlfriend."

"Damn straight."

"So I watch her die and then it's suddenly five days later and I'm at the lighthouse where you and I had just been not even half an hour ago. Where I had reconciled with her. Where I had said goodbye to her, before she died. I'm thrown into a world where Chloe had to die, and I was expected to just deal with it. Life moved on and I _tried_. People don't know this, but I've actually packed my bags to just up and leave on multiple occasions."

"Max Caulfield, teen runaway," Jane half-teased, wiping the tears from Max's eyes before she gently kissed the damp spots.

"School's done. I'm halfway gone from this place already," Max continued, "My parents have most of my stuff already back in Seattle. Movies, books, stuff like that. Clothes and my laptop are all I need. The rest we can pick up along the way."

"Max…"

"Don't, okay? Just…Just back me up on this. This place, the town and…just all of it… It's a mausoleum to a future I don't get to have, to a friend who's dead but will never leave. To memories I sometimes wish I could just claw out of my head. Let me take you back to Big Sur. I don't even need to stick around for commencement – I already said I wouldn't be there for the ceremony. Diploma's getting mailed to _your_ address."

"My address? Quite the gambit, Caulfield. Well played," Jane said before climbing out of the bed to begin to undress.

"Jane?"

"…If this is your last night in this town, I want it to end on a high note. The only tears I want to see are happy ones, if any."

Pushing Max down onto the bed so that she would stay in place, Jane straddled the smaller girl and leaned down to kiss her as Max unclasped Jane's bra. Shrugging it off, Jane arched her back a little and Max took in the sight before her. They had never done anything like this, not even with Skype; Max had always worried about someone on campus hacking into her computer through the network for a free show. Jane's lean, tight body revealed the beginnings of a six-pack that Max had no doubt came from all the surfing and running that Jane had been doing ever since she'd been down at Big Sur. Her arms were long with subtle definition that held Max's arms in place; Max just looked up in wonder at her girlfriend. _She's so beautiful. Like a statue, carved with precise hands. Wowser, I want to feel my hands on those abs, slide them up to her…wait, are those…?_

"Nipple piercings? You got your nipples pierced?" Max asked, her eyes wide in momentary shock with a grin stretched across her face that left a previously-lustful Jane suddenly awkward and bashful as she let go of Max's wrists to cover up her chest.

"Did ya have to say it like that, babe?" Jane asked, her line of sight averted so that she couldn't see Max's face, "You make it sound like I was turned into a cyborg or something. I…I thought it looked hella badass in this magazine I read so I thought I'd give it a try…"

"Hey," Max said, sitting up with Jane still on her lap, " _Hey_."

Max hooked her index finger and thumb onto Jane's chin and slowly turned her girlfriend's face back towards her, the brief resistance the violet-haired girl put up melting when she caught sight of the smile on Max's face.

"It was just a shock, that's all. I think it looks super-sexy," Max said, snickering a little at Jane's eye-rolling and accompanying groan, "No, for cereal. You're, um, hot. Like, beautiful and amazing and I kinda want to just nibble away at you."

"W-What's stopping you then, hippie?" Jane asked, biting her lip before crying out in surprise when Max leaned up to kiss the hollow between Jane's breasts.

The feeling of teeth carefully raking across skin sent a shiver through both girls and they were quickly in nothing but their underwear. Max moaned for a second when she felt Jane's panty-clad sex brush up against hers and their mutual wetness had Max sliding her hands around Jane's waist and up her back as she pulled the taller girl down and began to flick the tip of her tongue across the pierced nipples. Feeling Jane arch her back so that her chest was pushed a little closer to Max's face, Max reciprocated the move by gently sucking on one nipple why using a free hand to play with the other. The effect was immediate, Jane eliciting a long, breathy moan as Max pulled her down with the one hand still clamped onto her back until their bodies were pressed against one another.

"M- _Max…_ ," Jane panted before giggling a little when Max locked her legs around Jane's waist.

Max swirled her tongue around the one nipple and nibbled at it before switching, not wanting to focus her attention on one single spot of her girlfriend's body. Lapping at the other nipple, Max ran her fingertips down Jane's abs and purred at the feel of how toned her girlfriend was. With Jane propping herself up, Max's other hand was free as well and she used it to tease Jane by running a finger around the waistband of her girlfriend's panties. _I can practically_ feel _the heat coming off of you, Jane, holy fuck. Your entire body is like a goddamn hot piece of coal, or a furnace,_ Max thought as she paused in her movements to look up into Jane half-lidded eyes. Realizing that Max had stopped, those same eyes snapped open and blue met blue as their gazes connected.

"Can I…? I mean, if you want to go further-," Max half-stammered out only to feel Jane's body lean into her further, "…That a yes?"

"Fuck yeah, it is," Jane said with a Cheshire grin before their lips connected when they met each other halfway for a kiss.

Jane's tongue swirled in sync with Max's as they moved simultaneously so they were lying on their sides. Only pausing for breath, the kissing continued with moans of ecstasy and delight as their lips almost seemed to meld into one another. Max felt a hand press against her own abdomen but she didn't open her eyes; taking off her panties with a series of quick movements, Max reached over and untied Jane's bikini-style underwear so that their bare sexes were exposed to the cool air in the room. Feeling the heat coming off of each other, each girl instinctively scooted closer as they both slid a hand down to play with the other girl's slit.

" _Jane…"_

 _"_ Yeah?"

"…Fuck me…"

"That _is_ the plan, man."

Snorting at Jane's rhyme, the chortle took a swift turn as it became a cry of surprise and pleasure when a single finger slipped itself into Max as she rubbed her fingers along the outside of Jane's sex to play with her girlfriend's "lips". Feeling that single finger wiggle around inside of her sent what felt like a hot jolt of energy through Max and grabbed Jane by clamping onto the nape of her neck and pressing their bodies against one another's as she began to grind her hips in sync with Jane's hand movements. With the finger wiggle turning into two fingers pumping inside of her, Max slipped her middle finger into Jane and began to pump herself as she used her thumb to play with the other girl's clit. Both girls broke the kiss as they began to pant from the welling surges running through them before Max abruptly pulled her finger out. Jane barely had any time to react before Max sat up and brought one of Jane's legs over her shoulder as she began to scissor the violet-haired girl, rubbing herself directly against Jane to her confused girlfriend's sudden and complete delight.

"M-Max…I think I'm…"

"Hold…Hold on, we can… We can come together…!"

" _Max, I can't hold on! What the… Ugh, oh fuck don't stop!"_

"I'm _not_ , you egg! I'm trying to catch up w-with…holy…holy amazeballs…!"

" _Max! Oh, holy shit! MAX!"_

 _"Jane! Jesus fuck, Jane!"_

* * *

When Max woke up it was still dark out, and her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness of her room. Scratching at an itch on her arm, Max nearly jumped in her disorientation when an arm wound its way around her waist before her senses came to her fully. _Jane. She's here, with me. We… Oh. Oh, wow. I-I don't know what came over me. Holy shit!_ Turning as slowly as she could so as to not wake up her girlfriend, Max grimaced before flashing an exasperated smirk at her amused surfer punk. Smiling at her knowingly, naked save for her underwear, Jane pulled the two-person sleeping bag up to their chins with her free hand as she pulled Max in for a kiss. Even though she was only a silhouette at the moment, Max still thought that Jane was beautiful in that moment. _You don't need eyes to see how amazing someone can be. Jane Doe, you make me happy that I went to Spring Break by myself. That, and so much more._ Max would wonder, from time to time, just how different the past couple months might have been if she had opted to not go down to Cali for her spring vacation. Most times, it still ended up with Max leaving before school was officially over; the despair that plagued her from time to time, the intense emotional pull that Arcadia Bay had over her, was the real source of her anxiety and why she had needed to get her parents to renew her old MMJ card and prescription.

"Whatcha think' bout, sista?" Jane whispered softly into Max's ear as she leaned her forehead against the brunette's, the scent of lilac from the shampoo they had shared in their post-sex shower still in her hair, "Thinking good things?"

"Thinking a lot of 'what if' and 'maybe', actually," Max said, her lips thinned in a grim line that caused Jane's bottom lip to stick out a little, "But nothing with the words 'regret' and 'Jane'. I could never regret you, not ever."

"D'awww, you _wuuuuuuv_ me…"

"Oh, stop."

"You want to _kiss_ me."

"Cliché teasing is cliché."

"Nerd."

"Hobo."

"Oh! Jerk!"

"Bum!"

"I don't think I like this game," Jane said with a chuckle before she kissed Max on the nose, "My widdle hippie really wants to move into my shack, eh? It's _a_ room, Max, with barely a bathroom. I mean, the shower's outside for fuck's sake."

"So? It'll be us, together. Besides, it isn't like that is going to be where either of us spend the rest of our lives, dingus."

Max uncoupled Jane's arm from her waist, ignoring the feigned whimpering and puppy eyes as she sat up to get her phone off the nightstand. Flicking her finger across the screen to turn it on, she checked the time. It was not quite four in the morning – early enough that they could have a head start but not say goodbye, late enough that no one would be awake to stop them. _I should at least_ see _if anyone is up_ , Max thought with a resolute sigh as she climbed out of bed and put on an oversized shirt and boyshorts. Her bra hung over the desk chair, she simply didn't care enough to put it on. _Not like I'm packin' anything that would require significant cuppage…_

"I'm going to see if anyone's up, say my goodbyes. You want to get your stuff-"

"Dude, I packed before I joined you in bed. You nodded off hella fast, and I was still buzzing from sexy time with my bae," Jane said with a dorky grin as she jerked her chin in the direction of her packed luggage sitting next to Max's, one pair of clean clothes laid out for each of them, "I got us both all set up to roll on out of here if you're dead-set on it."

"I'm totally dead-set," Max said as she pulled her bedhead into a ponytail, "Hasta la vista, Arcadia Bay."

"Come with me if you hella want to live," Jane replied, meeting Max's _Terminator_ paraphrased quote with one of her own, "I'll get dressed and tidy shiz up. Sleeping in a two-person sleeping bag has its perks, not gonna lie."

Max snickered and quietly opened the door, laughing outright when she turned around to see Jane flashing her bare ass from within the sleeping bag. Closing the door to the sound of her girlfriend giggling, Max tip-toed across the hall to see if Victoria was awake. To her surprise, and a little bit of relief, she heard footsteps in response to her slight tapping at the door. Stepping back as the knob turned, Max smiled apologetically at a bleary-eyed, disheveled Victoria Chase. Letting Victoria give her a once-over as she was looked at from top to bottom, Max waited until her friend cocked an eyebrow and swung her door open the rest of the way to let Max in.

Taking a seat on the couch, Max watched Victoria look out into the hallway for a moon before closing and locking the door behind her. When Victoria looked down at her from in front of the door before she walked over and sat in her bed, Max waited until the sleepy girl patted a spot on the bed to go and join her. They sat there in a sleep-addled silence that was mostly contributed by Victoria's head bobbing as she fought to stay awake. _This is wrong. She's half-asleep and I'm about to drop a bomb on her that will make it impossible for her to-_

"…You're leaving, aren't you?" Victoria mumbled as she began to wake up in earnest, seeing the conflicted look on her friend's face, "C'mon, Max. You know you can't hide that kind of shit from me. _Especially_ me."

"Yeah. Y-Yeah, I'm leaving. I'm loading up my truck with what I need from my room and taking Jane back to Big Sur. I'm not coming back," Max said, only just managing to get the words out before she nearly choked on her own breath, "You saw this coming, huh? I'm _that_ predictable?"

"You… Nothing's been the same since October, but you especially changed. It's like you went from shy to forthright in an instant. Even when… Even when Chloe was shot by Nathan, you were still quiet. It was after the funeral that I first thought you might bail shortly thereafter," Victoria said, putting an arm around her friend as Max did the same, "Y'know, as shitty as it sounds, I'm glad that at least we became friends out of all that misery."

"The misery is still _here_ , Tori," Max said, lying her head on Victoria's shoulder, "At least for me. Kate… She had _that_ done to her and she's bounced back better than I have."

"I know, right? Smoking pot, drinking booze occasionally – it's like you're a teenager," Victoria teased, winking when Max's head turned with a suddenness.

"Oh _ha ha_ , Victoria. You're _so_ funny. _Sooooo_ funny."

"I _am_ something of a delight," Victoria said approvingly, nodding, "I'm also right. Max, you're eighteen and you were a first-hand witness to the type of shit that is usually reserved for movies and TV shows. You were in the bathroom when your childhood best friend _died_. Fuck, we all thought you were going to leave after that Saturday following the funeral. You were screaming and tearing your room apart for what felt like the entire day. It took David Madsen coming to visit to calm you down and even then you nearly kicked him in the balls."

"…I-I wasn't in my right mind, at the time," Max said, remembering the horror of seeing Chloe, kissing Chloe, watching Chloe die, and burying Chloe all happen in what registered to Max as only a few moments, "If I leave it here, all the horror, I have a chance. I just… I can't stay here any longer. Any paperwork the school needs me to do this final week, they can email to me."

"And what about everybody else?" Victoria asked, eyebrow arched as her lips shaped into something that was part scowl, part saddened frown, "Do _not_ tell me you're dumping your single _Bon voyage_ on me, Caulfield. Don't you fucking dare."

"I'm not!" Max said, throwing her hands up defensively, "At least, if anybody else answers their door I'll talk to them. If not, well, I'm not out to drag people out of bed. Which reminds me – it's 4am, Tori. What the fuck are _you_ doing awake?"

"Bitch, I never went to sleep," Victoria joked, pointing over at the anime paused on her TV, "Can't believe you got me into _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within._ I still like _Advent Children_ more. At least it has _actual_ Final Fantasy VII characters in it…"

" _Spirits Within_ is a great sci-fi movie, so don't knock it. Besides, you'd still be some closet nerd if it weren't for me. Hiding your anime figures in shame, not realizing or knowing that Taylor likes the same anime you do."

"Oh, so it was all some grand plan, eh?"

"My single run at matchmaking," Max said, puffing out her chest to the laughter of Victoria, "So."

"So. You're really bailing, huh?" Victoria asked, a sad smile on her face as she pulled Max in for a hug, "I nod off after you head out into the hall, I'll wake up to find you already in Cali. Maybe I'll see you there. Sweet-T is begging me to apply to UCLA with her."

"You should apply with her. Don't break up something that clearly means a lot to the both of you," Max said as she squeezed Victoria in the hug before sliding off the bed to head for the door, "Also, JD is going to teach me how to surf so the next time you see me I might be a little more toned up."

"L-O-L, a _hot_ Max Caulfield. We'll see."

"Tori?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what, Max?"

"For treating JD like a person and not a reminder. The prom, well, it was hard for her. You made it a lot easier."

"Max, she's your girlfriend. And she is _so_ not Chloe. I went to school with Chloe. The girl in your room? Definitely not her, appearances not meaning everything and all that."

"Later, Tori."

"Later, Max."

* * *

Two Whales was quite for the point in time just prior to the breakfast rush. The odd customer or more, a trucker or someone else traveling on business, usually were left to their own devices when it came to having the run of the dining area. This morning, however, two girls sat in a booth near the corner alongside the jukebox and whispered conspiratorially amongst themselves. It was six in the morning, the Sun was only just beginning to soften the dark sky with a golden hue, and Max Caulfield was looking outside the window of the old diner for what she thought could be the last time. Sighing, she turned her wan gaze from the window to try and present a brighter disposition in front of her girlfriend.

"Don't bullshit a bullshiter, babe," Jane said, sipping at her coffee, "What's up?"

"Thinkin'."

"Yeah, I got that. Thinkin' about _what_?"

Max responded with a sigh and smiled apologetically when she saw Jane roll her eyes as she leaned back in her bench seat and sipped at the lukewarm coffee. They had been at the diner for the better part of an hour, their breakfasts of waffle and omelette already washed down with a pot of coffee shared between the two of them. Big Sur, while not an excruciatingly long drive, was still taxing and Max was going to need to be extra awake for heading down the coast at an hour she was more accustomed to sleeping through. The drive, while on her mind, did not circumference it; her thoughts were on the car that was approaching from a familiar turn along the street and its occupants. This would not be like the school, a single farewell to a weary Victoria while everyone else still slept. The stealthy movement of luggage and bags down the sparsely illuminated hall and into the stairway, and then returning to her door to slide the room key under so that it was in what had only just been her room; Max had only come up with her idea for Two Whales as Jane had been pumping gas into Jezebel, and now that it was about to come to fruition she was a little timid at the notion of what was about to happen.

"…I'm thinking that this is going to blow up in my face," Max confessed, watching the muscle car pull into the parking lot. Jane, seeing Max's eyes shift their gaze to follow something, turned in her seat and jerked her head back to look at Max after spotting the familiar vehicle, "Please don't be mad. I… I just have to make things right with them, and they need to get used to the idea of you and me."

"Babe, I'm not pissed," Jane said, an encouraging smile on her face, "I'm more surprised than anything. Thought you wanted to leave Arcadia Bay quietly, without stirring anything up?"

"Changed my mind."

"I can see that," Jane said, craning her head back to see as David dropped off Joyce at the door to the diner, "I can see _both_ of 'that'. Aaaannnd, they just saw me. Lovely. Fan-fucking-tastic."

Max lowered her head onto the booth's table, her forehead against it's smooth surface as she heard the clacking sound of Joyce's heels and David's boots like they were the footsteps of doom. _I will take this bullshit, though I do not know the way,_ Max thought as imagined herself as Frodo with the conversation about to ensue being her own private little Mount Doom. _That means JD is Sam._ Max couldn't help but snort at that thought as she felt Jane slide up next to her and knew without looking that the Price-Madsens were now sitting in the bench opposite herself and JD. Lifting her head, Max flashed a pallid-looking Joyce and a tired David a weary smile of her own before sitting up straight. It wasn't until she felt Jane hand reassuringly on her leg that Max cleared her throat to speak, though part of her was still contemplating vaulting over the table and making a run for it with Jane.

"Uh, hey Joyce. David," Max said, rolling her eyes at her own verbal inadequacy, "So look, um, you don't have to worry about me or Jane because I'm leaving Arcadia Bay. I've… _We've_ been waiting here at the diner because I wanted to say goodbye."

"Max, honey-" Joyce started to say only to stop mid-sentence when Max cut her off.

"David told me you were sobbing for hours, Joyce. _Hours._ There's no way that I'm going to be okay with that, being part of the reason you feel so miserable, but at the same time I should get to be with who I want to be with wherever I am," Max continued on, raising a hand when David looked like he was going to say something, "Cornering me at the parking lot, hiding in the kitchen – I get that I should have told you two more about Jane, but I honestly just hoped you could look past the obvious and see how happy I am."

"The obvious?" Jane asked, eyebrow cocked.

"That you could pass for Chloe if you really wanted. I don't want you to, but I'm just saying you could," Max said, taking the hand on her leg and squeezing it, "I prefer my girlfriend 100% pure JD, though."

"Damn straight."

"Can I say something now?" Joyce asked, the slight irritation in her voice subduing Max's need to direct the conversation as she mutely nodded under the gaze of her deceased best friend's mother, "Look, Max, I won't lie to you. Part of this whole situation is…unsettling. That isn't anything on you…Jane, not personally."

"Gee, thanks," Jane muttered, eyeballing David when he glared at her warningly, both of their eyes narrowed.

"Y'all are getting' upset when there's just nothin' doin' to this," Joyce said in frustration, swatting her husband on the shoulder, "David, Chloe…is gone, and Max has been more happy these past couple of months than her entire time back in Arcadia Bay that we've seen her. Look at what we're doing – we're driving away another girl that I think of as a daughter."

"Hold on, Joyce," David said, taking his wife's hand as he looked Max square in the eye, "You can't tell me that you couldn't have done a better job with this. Keeping something like…like Jane from us-"

"But you _did_ know-"

"We knew what you wanted us to know, Max," David said in resignation, sounding tired and not wanting to fight, "You kept us out of the dark about _who_ Jane bears a resemblance to and fed us inaccurate intel. You intentionally didn't tell us, and that's not something someone with nothing to hide does."

"…I know," Max admitted, her own morale dropping as she felt her hand go slack in Jane's, "I…I didn't want anyone freaking out…"

"Well, regardless, it happened," David replied, his tone softening at seeing how distraught Max was quickly becoming, "But I'm not mad, Max. Disappointed, sure. I just wish you felt you could've been more upfront with us."

"How… How could I have been upfront with you?" Max asked, the disbelief obvious on her face and in her voice, "Look at how you reacted! Both of you! It might have made _this weekend_ easier, but it probably wouldn't have changed your initial reactions!"

Max wanted to keep going, but found an elbow lightly jabbing her and glanced over to see Jane looking at her expectantly. Knowing that look, Max mentally conceded to let Jane her girlfriend speak her mind. _Dog knows she has every right to say_ something, Max thought, _She's the one on edge most of the weekend because people keep looking at her weird and treating her funny. She deserves a lot better._

"Look," Jane said, eyes closed as she sighed before they opened up towards Joyce and David with a fresh determination, "I'm Max's girlfriend, okay? You two obviously care about her, and we make each other happy, so that _alone_ should be all that you really need to know. I know from what you just said and from what Max has told me over the past couple of months that you two have become like a second set of parents to her, but even then Max decides for herself who she wants to be with."

"As for your issues with me…," she continued, undaunted by the look on the adults' faces as they sat across from her and Max in silence, "I'm not your daughter. I'm not Chloe. My name is Jane and yes, I know how much I look and sound like her. I know that it unnerves you, but imagine how it feels for me to come into this town knowing how I look and sound. There's a reason Max didn't want to share too much about me, and your reactions make that painfully obvious."

"…Jane, we didn't mean anythin' disrespectful by-" Joyce choked out, surprise etched on her face from how calm the violet-haired girl was.

"I'm not some replacement for your daughter. Max loves me for me, and if you think otherwise even a little bit then you are not only disrespecting Max but both myself _and_ Chloe."

The words hung in the still air as Max looked at Jane with an expression of complete shock, matched in kind by both Joyce and David as they appeared to have nearly reeled from the impact of Jane's words. _Wowser_ , Max thought, _I thought I was hard on them, but Jane was merciless. Not harsh for the sake of being harsh, but truthful to the point of harshness. Still… Damn._ Reaching across the table, her hand opening slowly and tentatively, Max took the trembling fist of Jane and clasped it. Feeling the hand pull back a little instinctively, Max looked at Jane until the other girl cast her a sidelong glance and the tension lifted a little when Jane's fist unclenched and their fingers wove together.

"I'm leaving Arcadia Bay because it's time," Max said with a rush of air as she let it all out in a huff of breath, the tension ebbing from her body as she leaned against Jane in the bench seat, "I stayed longer than I had initially wanted, and it's gotten to the point where I just can't be here anymore. I'm gone once Jane and I head out that door."

"B-But Max, what about graduation?" Joyce asked, stunned.

"I'm not going. Finals were earlier this week so technically the actual school part of my Blackwell experience is over. I already told my parents and the principal that I wouldn't be attending the graduation ceremony, so the diploma is getting mailed to the forwarding address I left. Jane's address."

"You're moving to California?" Joyce asked, eyes wide as she looked at Max, then at Jane, and back to Max.

"I've already been accepted to a school in the Big Sur area, CSU Monterey Bay, and Jane lives close enough that I can make the drive easily. Plus, there's bound to be work for a photographer-slash-barista. I worked at a coffee shop in Seattle – Cali should be a piece of cake!"

"Do your parents know about this?" David asked, his tone neutral but his face openly displaying his continued disappointment. _I'm not some wunderkind, David,_ Max thought when she saw the look on his face, _I can only try to meet my own goals and expectations. You…You mean well, but you don't know how to show it without it coming off wrong. You do try, though. You try._

"I'm sure they'll know the second one of you call them up," Max said with a look of resignation, "I would prefer to tell them on my own terms. They already know I'm going to CSU; finding out that I'm moving super-early, however, I would like to be my call and not yours."

"And just when would you tell them?" David pressed.

"…Once I'm at Jane's place-"

" _Our place_ ," Jane interjected.

"…I did a lot crazier stuff than you or Chloe ever did when I was your age," David said after a moment's silence, "Lot crazier. Cross-country road trips on my old Harley, working odd jobs here and there along the way to make some spending cash for motels and cheap food. Shit, if I had the opportunity you have right now, I'd be taking it."

"David…?" Joyce asked, a wry grin on her face as her husband chuckled a little.

"Max, you're a grown woman and you have made solid decisions since the day I met you. You're always squared away and you know to stay within your lane. Can you just promise me one thing?"

"Name it," Max said, surprised when David reached over to take her free hand in both of his own.

"Can you call us? Keep in touch with us? You _are_ like a daughter, to both of us."

"No problemo," Max said with a relieved smile that only brightened further when Jane planted a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

 **Months later...**

The early morning greeted Max with the sound of surf and seagulls as she woke up in her and Jane's bed in the beach shack that had become their home over the past few months. The walls repainted with swirls of blue and green, paper lanterns hung from the ceiling with two surfboards leaned up on the wall next to the front door. Her photo memorial wall expanded to take up an entire wall of their small dwelling, Max smiled at the successful transplant of her pictures from Seattle to Arcadia Bay and now to Big Sur. Shots of her and Jane surfing and scuba diving, Max using the GoPro her parents had bought her as an early birthday present, dotted the wall along with new shots of cookouts with familiar faces. Kate had come down a couple times and they kept in touch daily through texts and Skype, but Victoria and Taylor came over nearly every other weekend since they were attending school in California as well. Victoria had gone so far as to enroll in CSU Monterey Bay as well, liking the photography program just as Max had. Having a familiar face sitting next to her in class helped Max come out of her cocoon a little further, and she had gradually made a couple new friends over the first semester.

"Mmm…," Jane grumbled as a shaft of sunlight aimed at her face with its amber warmth, "Too early…sleep more…"

Looking over at the taller girl, Max smiled and planted a kiss on the cheek of her girlfriend to the reward of a smile creeping across the sleepy girl's face. Jane had proved to be the greatest blessing Max could have hoped for, the perfect blend of warmth, attitude, love, and humor for her. They played off each other so well it had become something of a running gag amongst the people in town who knew them, the "new old couple". Sighing quietly as she carefully got out of bed, Max walked over to the bathroom and splashed her face with a handful of cold water from the sink before glancing up at her reflection.

"Howdy, stranger," Max said with amusement. The bags under her eyes had receded a bit, and her complexion was healthier for it. Sticking the tip of her tongue out, Max toyed with the lip ring Jane had convinced her to get, "Just remember, Max. You can _always_ just take the damn thing out."

Eyeing herself in the mirror further, Max smiled at the extension of her butterfly tattoo, a deer now chasing the blue morpho from her shoulder blade. Likely not the last tattoo she would get, Max figured that she was only just about 19 – she had all the time in the world. Running a hand through her bedhead, she took a towel off the rack and her shower supplies. The shower, an enclosed stall outside, required a brief walk out the back door. Knowing the sand would likely still be a little cool from the night, Max slipped on her flip-flops and knelt down in her oversized tank-top to squat right beside her sleepy girlfriend.

"Hey, you," Max said with a soft grin as she bent down to kiss her girlfriend good morning before nuzzling her with an Eskimo kiss, "What's on your agenda for today, JD?"

"Sleep," Jane said with a yawn before looking up at Max with a lazy grin, "Come back to bed."

"Would that I could. I have class in a couple hours."

"Hours, babe. _Hours._ There is plenty time for a few more winks."

"I want to go to the coffee shop, see how my prints did yesterday," Max said as she lightly tickled Jane's side, "I had yesterday off and I have today off, too. Kinda need to know how much bacon we'll be getting off my touristy shots."

"You always make a killing off your photos, Max," Jane said, stretching before she propped herself up by her elbows to get another kiss, "Wait. Did you say you have today off? Dude, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wanted it to be a surprise…?"

"But _I_ don't have today off, Max."

"Yeah, you do. I called Margaret last night. You got the day off from the drive-thru."

"You're shittin' me. Marge gave me the day off?" Jane asked, wide-eyed, "But you have class-"

"I have _a_ class. One. I'll be in class from 10am to 10:50am, and then you and I have the day to ourselves. Now, lemme shower and I'll fill you in."

"Care to have company?"

"I need a shower, Jane. Not sexy time."

"Boo. You suck, boooooooo."

Stepping out through the back, Max wound around the side and entered the shower stall. Closing and latching the wooden door shut, she hung her shirt and underwear over the side before pulling the chain that let loose with a rainfall-like shower of warm water. Splashing her face again to become entirely awake, Max pulled out her mint and tea tree oil body wash and lathered up her front while letting the water pelt her back with rivulets of water. Turning around to rinse off, Max took the loofah that hung off a hook and squeezed some of the body wash onto it before she scrubbed at her back and spun around to quickly rinse off there as well. After washing her hair with lavender-scented shampoo she pulled the chain to switch off the water and dried her hair before applying the dry conditioner. Running her fingers through her now shoulder-length hair, Max pulled it into a simple ponytail and wrapped herself in a towel as she headed out of the stall and around the shack to get back inside.

The smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee filled the single-room building as Max returned from the shower and shed slipped on a pair of jeans. Slipping on a bra after tossing her sleep shirt onto the bed, Max pulled a black and pink plaid shirt and had it half buttoned-up when Jane came over with their breakfast on one plate. Being handed a fork, Max stuck the utensil in her mouth to finish getting dressed before taking taking her hair out of its ponytail and hastily comb it in the bathroom while Jane made whimpering sounds in their living room area as she sat alone with the untouched breakfast.

"Coming, coming," Max said, smirk on her face as she flopped onto the old love seat they had found at the local Goodwill a few weeks ago, "This smells awesome. Did you use the spice rack I got you?"

"Hella yes, I did! That shit is hardcore," Jane said with a grin of her own as she dug into the pile of eggs with a plastic sport they had kept from a local seafood stand, "A little paprika, little garlic, and some minced onion. Add a sprinkle of salt and peppa and this shit is rockin'!"

"But how's the coffee?" Max asked as she gingerly took a sip of the steaming beverage and smiled in appreciation, "Ya did good, kid. Ya done did good."

"D'awww, high praise from the coffee master," Jane said, her grin widening in spite of the mouthful of egg and toast, "Hush and eat, now. You got your class and I, evidently, will be spending my alone time cleaning up the place or whatevs. You want anything special for lunch, babe?"

"I'll bring something with me. What d'you want?" Max asked.

"Um, fish tacos from that restaurant near your college? Ooh, and the nachos with extra guac!" Jane exclaimed after swallowing down her mouthful of food, following up her request with a sip of coffee.

"Gotcha. Fish tacos and guac-y nachos for my violet-haired girl," Max said with a nod, stabbing a forkful of egg for herself as she squeezed half a ketchup packet's contents onto her food, "I'll run by the coffee shop and collect whatever bank I made off the prints, head to school, get us some lunch, and head back home. Oh, I gotta stop by the dispensary, too. My prescription's running low."

"No pot snacks this time?" Jane asked, a slight grimace on her face, "I keep forgetting because they look so normal."

"JD, I put 'Max's pot snacks' _on_ _the bags,"_ Max said, her voice shaky as she was trying not to laugh, "I'll just put them in one of the drawers of my desk."

Taking a single hit off of her e-hookah, Max smiled and inhaled the vapor before leaning over to kiss her girlfriend. _We've been together for six months today, JD. Do you realize this? A half-year anniversary lunch with tacos, nachos, and some required post-lunchtime sexy fun. Just what the doctor ordered,_ Max thought as she took a couple pieces of toast and made herself a small egg and bacon sandwich. Wrapping the small breakfast sandwich in a napkin, Max got to her feet and walked over to sling her camera bag over her shoulder. Sandals, torn jeans, and plaid shirt – finishing the ensemble off with a pair of sunglasses to shield her eyes from the California sun, Max gave her girlfriend one more kiss before heading out the door.

Around noon, Max rolled into the restaurant Jane had mentioned and pulled into the drive-thru to order. An old fast-food chain that had been closed down and renovated, the new owners ran a seafood place here near campus and a stand out on the beach. Their favorite restaurant to go to when Jane's place of business wasn't looking all that appealing, the aquamarine old McDonalds building smelled of fried clams and hushpuppies as Max pulled up to the window to pay for the food and collect the meals. Having already stopped at the dispensary to fill her prescriptions, thankful she was still covered by her parents' healthcare plan until she was 24 if necessary, Max lit up a joint in the restaurant parking lot as she pulled out onto the street. The faint buzz calming her nerves down, the university always sending her anxiety up a couple of notches, Max drove the ten minutes it roughly took to get from the university area to where she and Jane lived. Parking the truck in front of their shack, Max smiled when JD opened the door. Clad in surfer shorts and a white tank-top, Jane walked out to the truck and helped Max with their lunch.

"Get some surfing in?" Max asked as she collected her camera bag and their drinks, two styrofoam cups full of cherry slushie, "Don't tell me you spent the whole time in the house, Jane!"

"I didn't. Chill, babe," Jane said, wagging her finger as she looked at Max over her shoulder as they walked along the sidewalk, "Went surfing for a bit _first_ , then showered and made the place presentable."

"Presentable? It's just you and me, JD."

"It's also our six-month anniversary, kiddo," Jane quipped, opening the door to the dim illumination of candlelight inside, "Happy _us_ , babe. Love you."

 **Author's Note -**

 **Here we are, the end of yet another story. I feel like everything is coming to a close. First Press Play, now Lost and Found. Me going on hiatus from FanFiction, working solely on the What If comic for a while to take a breather. I need the breather, though. I don't know how to pace myself so I put out this...mind-boggling amount of stories out a relatively small amount of time and now I need to step back and take some time to breathe.**

 **Thanks to everybody's who has enjoyed not only this story, but all the stories that I've put out thus far. Positive remarks, constructive criticism - it's all been appreciated. There've been days these past months where all that kept me going was flipping through the reviews from my stories and seeing how I managed to touch people's hearts with my words. It means a lot to me to invoke that kind of response because I put my heart and spirit into what I write and I know that it shows.**

 **As for the future, well, who knows?**

 **Stay hella, Cinnamon Rolls, and thank you :)**


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